Catfished
by Haitus80
Summary: Merle is sentenced to house arrest and discovers the mysteries of the internet. Meanwhile Daryl discovers that Merle is secretly trying to reel in an unsuspecting woman on the web and decides to intervene. When Daryl falls in too deep he goes to extremes to keep her away from his brother, and any other man. Ridiculousness ensues as Daryl sabotages everyone. Including himself.
1. Chapter 1

*****Warning*** This story is ridiculous. It's a comedy for the most part with a little drama thrown in for effect. I got the idea when I had the flu and I was flipping through channels trying to find something to watch. I stopped on this show called Catfish and then this idea was conceived. If you are looking for something serious then this isn't the story for you. Lol This was strictly for laughs. Either way, I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for giving it a shot!**

 **Chapter One**

Daryl turned into the parking lot of the bar that he had been stopping in for the past ten years. The place was a comfort of sorts, familiar. Wiping the sweat off his brow he hopped down from the beat up Chevy. Today had been a rough one since quite a few laborers had called off sick and he was stuck doing their job on top of his own.

He was hot, warn the hell out and ready for a beer and a little peace before he had to go home to Merle, who was on his second month of the six month house arrest sentence he'd received. He was driving Daryl up the fucking wall.

He sat down at the bar, nodding at the man that was already drawing the cold draft into a mug. He was a regular and the guy behind the bar knew his routine. The beer was cold and soothing to his parched throat and he nearly groaned around the rim of the mug as he took a few long swallows.

"Better slow down if you're planning on driving home."

He sat the mug down and glanced over at the sound of the familiar voice. He grunted. "Don't give me any shit Grimes. It's been a rough ass day."

Rick sat down on the stool next to him, also addressing the bartender with nothing but a nod. "Heard everybody's comin' down with that flu. Hell, half my guys are off with it. Your boys callin' off sick too?"

Daryl nodded. "Yep."

Rick sighed. "Carl has it. Hopefully he passes it on to his mother."

Daryl chuckled, shaking his head. "Still bitter?"

Rick turned his head slowly, regarding him with a level look. "She left me for my best friend. Hell yeah I'm bitter."

Daryl snorted. "And here I thought after all these years that I was your best friend."

This at least got a laugh out of the man. Daryl felt a little bad for him honestly. Rick was a decent guy for the most part and the affair that he'd caught his wife having with the man he'd been best friends with had really taken a toll on him. Him and Daryl had met years ago when Rick had shown up at his house to serve a warrant on his brother. The two of them had gotten into a screaming match on the lawn before his partner, Shane Walsh, had rushed Daryl and cuffed him too.

Rick had actually came to Daryl defense, pulling the other cop off of him. Rick had argued that Daryl hadn't done anything illegal and then it was him and Shane in the screaming match. All in all, it was the most unprofessional moment Daryl had ever witness between a couple of cops in all his life. A few months later was when Rick learned that Shane and his wife were sleeping together.

Turned out, Rick and Daryl just so happened to frequent the same quiet bar on the outskirts of town, and had struck up a strange kind of friendship. If Merle knew Daryl spent any amount of time with a cop on a social level, he'd hit the roof, but Merle didn't know about Daryl's friendship with Rick.

Rick sighed, nursing his beer.

Daryl finished his beer and gestured for another one. "You ever thought about climbin' back on that horse and datin' or something?" He asked absently. "It's been two years, man. I don't think you and Lori are gonna be able to reconcile your differences."

Rick laughed, shaking his head. "I found this website that's kind of interesting actually.

Daryl choked on the beer he'd just taken a drink of. He looked over, wiping the beer from his chin. "What?"

Rick laughed, staring down into his mug. "It isn't a dating site exactly. It's for people our age, divorced, widowed, single. There's some pretty nice people on there. It's actually a popular site. And look who's talking! I've known you for a long time now and I've never even seen you speak to a woman."

Daryl scoffed and finished the beer off before standing up and throwing some cash onto the table. "If I wanted the headache, trust me, I sure as hell wouldn't turn to the world wide web to find a woman. You never know who the fuck you're actually talkin' to. You're probably sittin' at home flirtin' with a thirty something year old man that lives in his mom's basement."

Rick shrugged. "At this point, if he was cute, I don't think I would even mind."

Daryl laughed, slapped Rick on the back and then strolled away, shaking his head. "Fuckin' website," he muttered to himself as he pulled himself up into the truck. He wouldn't have minded staying for a while but he did feel a little bad for leaving his brother stranded for longer than he had to. Merle wasn't used to keeping in one place for too long.

~H~

Carol stared at her best friend like she was insane. "You did what?" She asked, her eyes wide.

Andrea, hands on her hips, squared her shoulders. "You need to meet new people! I go out all the time, I always try to set you up with decent successful men and you never bother!"

Carol sighed. "Andrea, you can't just expect me to-"

"Your husband has been dead for ten years and the two years that you were married to him, he was a crappy asshole that didn't appreciate you. Ten years, Carol. You haven't gotten laid in ten years."

"I don't need your help! I certainly don't need to get on a computer to find a man. If I wanted one badly enough I would go meet one. I wouldn't try to find one on the internet for Christ's sakes! You know, those men could be anyone. You could be talking to someone you think is some great guy and it's really just some thirty something man living in his mother's basement!"

Andrea sighed heavily and stood up. "At this point, if he was attractive and decent, I would talk you into going for him!"

"Show me how to delete this thing," Carol muttered, sitting down at the computer and glaring at the screen. Sure enough, there she was. She couldn't believe her friend would do this to her! At least she had posted a flattering picture. But still, she wanted this gone. She was too old for nonsense like this.

"Carol, please! You already have," Andrea leaned in and grinned, "Forty eight messages! That's fantastic!"

"No! I already told you no! Are these messages from men!"

Andrea nodded, grinning. "Yes they are. Read them!"

"Absolutely not! I don't care what they say. I bet they're all perverts!" She looked at the screen again, her eyes widening as she read her introduction. "Oh my God!" She hissed.

"I know, it's fantastic."

"Andrea!" Her eyes took in the words, her face growing hotter and her stomach churning. People would actually think she wrote this!

 _Hello! Carol here. I'm a 43 year old widow of ten years ready to find a man that can handle a few wild nights a week to get me back in the swing of things. I enjoy long walks, dirty talk and a man that is willing to remind me what it's like to feel like a woman._

She was going to kill her. She was going to strangle the life right out of her!

"Just read the damn messages, Carol!" Andrea said hastily, reaching across and grabbing the mouse.

Carol stood up quickly. "No. Right now I am gonna stand here and watch you delete this right now!"

Andrea met her eyes, batting her lashes and pushing her bottom lip out a little.

"Now!" Carol pulled the chair out and pointed to the computer. "I swear to God, I could slap you right now!"

Andrea sighed heavily and sat down. "Fine. Be a lonely hermit that never has another man. I don't care."

"Good. I'm happy to hear it. Now, delete this!"

~H~

Merle heard the truck pull up outside and hastily closed the Pornhub window on the computer. He'd never imagined that there was this much fucked up shit on the internet but he was happy to find it. He stood up, grumbling because of the horrible fucking itch that never seemed to go away under the ankle bracelet that he had to wear.

He almost wished that he could just trade in his house arrest and serve a few months in jail but they hadn't offered. Now he was stuck like a fucking stick in the mud, bored out of his mind. He was reduced to looking at cartoon monster porn on the internet just to kill some time. He shook his head.

Daryl came in, glancing up at him as he kicked the door shut and then instantly went to work on getting his boots off.

"Tough day?" Merle asked, flopping down gracelessly onto the overstuffed chair.

Daryl nodded. "Goddamn flu has everybody down. Didn't have a laborer today so I had to do both jobs."

Merle whistled low. "Sounds rough."

Daryl kicked his work boots into the corner and then stripped off his shirt. "It was. I need a goddamn shower and some food. Order a pizza or somethin'," he called over his shoulder.

Merle grumbled, pulling himself up out of the chair and went for the phone to call in their order. He was sick of goddamn pizza. He was also sick of this goddamn house. He pocketed the money Daryl had sat on the table and then stepped out onto the porch.

Dale Hargrove lived across the street and he was outside mowing his lawn. He was wearing that stupid hat of his and a pair of Khaki shorts that ended above his knobby old knees and his white socks were pulled all the way up. The man looked over and threw up his hand. Merle flipped him the bird, scowling fiercely.

There wasn't many people in the neighborhood that wasn't on the goddamn rest home reserve. His grandma, Lord rest her soul, left him and Daryl her house when she passed on about ten years ago and the two of them decided to live in it instead of try to sell it. Well, his brother decided that anyway. Merle had wanted to sell it and then party with the profit till they were either broke or dead. But for once, Daryl had gotten his way and Merle guessed that things could have been worse.

It was a pretty nice set up. Norman, their grandad, had built the place himself way back in the day. They didn't have too many neighbors and they didn't have rent or a mortgage to pay. The house was old but it was decent, well built and there was room enough so him and Daryl weren't always stuck walking over one another.

He sat around on his ass, getting what little fresh air he was allowed and watched as the pizza guy pulled up and then grinned when he saw who it was. The boy looked up and then seemed to sigh as he headed down the sidewalk. "How's life treatin' you China Boy?" Merle asked.

Glenn Rhee, who Merle had known for a while now since him and Daryl ate so goddamn much pizza, rolled his eyes. "I'm Korean, Merle. I've told you that a thousand times."

"Well excuse the fuck right outta me, Hop Sing." He took the pizza and handed the kid his money. The boy took off without a word, leaving Merle gazing longingly at the street. Goddamn he wanted to leave the house.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello! I forgot to mention that this is finished so I can post daily. Be safe and thanks for reading!**

 **Chapter Two**

Carol unlocked the door to her apartment above the bakery. She had bought the place eight years ago and had shocked everyone when it had actually became a small success. The money she made paid the bills with enough left over to splurge on nonsense when she felt the urge. She wasn't a rich business owner by any means, but she was content.

Well, she was content financially anyway. If she were being completely honest with herself she would have to admit that Andrea really was on to something. She was a little lonely at times. She had friends and a decent social life but when she came home it was to an empty apartment. She could have flogged Andrea for reminding her that it had been a very long time since she had been in the company of a man she was interested in.

Her marriage hadn't been exactly horrible but it hadn't been a very happy one either. She hadn't really loved her husband. Not in the way a woman should. He was distant and sometimes harsh with his words and she had wondered, after the first year, if he wasn't trying to hide a flare for violence. She hadn't ever found out because he was killed in a car accident.

She didn't cry when she had gotten the news. She'd simply taken care of what needed taken care of and she had moved on.

She sighed heavily and sat down grabbing the remote and turning the television on so she could catch up on the news and then go to bed. She wasn't sleepy. She didn't have to get up to open the bakery in the morning because the kitchen was being renovated. There was nothing to do, though, so she may as well try to get a good nights sleep.

She finished watching the news and then sat there for a few more minutes. God, she really was bored to death. With a weary sigh, she stood up, turning everything off as she headed to her bedroom. She was almost there when she paused in the hallway as she passed the second bedroom that she used as an office.

"Oh what the hell would it hurt?" She mumbled to herself, flipping on the light and heading straight to her desk. If nothing else, it was a way to kill time. She wasn't tired and she was sick of watching movies and it would be interesting to look through some other people's profiles.

She glanced around guiltily as she opened the laptop sitting in the middle of her desk. Remembering her log in info wasn't hard since Andrea had forced it on her and she knew that the infuriating woman hadn't deleted the account because Andrea wasn't one to be deterred when she had an idea. Carol's face flamed when her own profile popped up. Her inbox informed her that there were now double the messages than she had seen when Andrea had proudly presented her with this mess.

She drummed her nails on the desk and finally decided that this wasn't the most horrible idea that Andrea had ever had and it wouldn't hurt to see if anything came of it. She quickly dove in, changing her log in info so Andrea wouldn't have access to her account and then she deleted her personal info. Her fingers hovered over the keys as she thought of what she should say about herself.

"Let's see. Hi, I'm Carol and I am insanely boring, haven't had sex with a man in a decade, introverted, paranoid and I dress like a bohemian woman," she said out loud and then she laughed at herself, not even caring that she was laughing at herself.

Instead of typing that little tidbit she wrinkled her nose and began.

 _Forty Three year old business owner, looking to meet new people and hopefully share some laughs with someone likeminded. Interested in..._

Her fingers hovered over the keys, her brows coming down in a frown. "What the hell am I interested in?"

She cleared her throat and shrugged.

… _Old movies, long talks and good music._

She studied the words with a critical eye and then shook her head, laughing at herself again. She deleted all of the messages without reading them, knowing that they only responded to her because of the things Andrea had posted to her page. Instead of sifting through the messages she figured out how to look at other users profiles.

It was actually pretty entertaining. Some people were completely disgusting and others sounded so desperate that it was almost sad. She kept scrolling, clicking on images of men that she thought looked attractive, reading over their profiles. A few of them actually stood out to her and she debated on whether to take the plunge and try to talk to them.

"Rick Grimes," she muttered, looking at a picture of an attractive man in a police uniform. She read over his profile quickly. He was four years younger than herself, divorced, one son who was ten years old. He was a police officer, which she could already tell because of his picture. He seemed... sweet.

"Okay, Rick Grimes. Let's see if I message you a quick hello you will be able to refrain from asking me for a picture of my tits in your response," she muttered as she did exactly that. After sending her message she went back to scrolling. She laughed out loud a few times at a few of the pictures she scrolled past.

She stopped scrolling and squinted at the screen at another picture that caught her interest. The name had her smiling because it sounded made up but, what the hell? It was time for her to live a little. In the photo he was wearing camo and looking down the scope of a rifle. He was ruggedly handsome in a dangerous sort of way, unlike Rick who looked rather wholesome in his photo.

"Okay, Merle Savage. Let's see if you're some sort of perverted freak," she muttered, clicking on the picture. She read over his profile and then hummed. He was single, never been married, no children, five years older than herself and according to this, he was a bit of a homebody. He didn't look like any kind of homebody she had ever seen but then again, who was she to judge? She sent a message, just like the one she sent to Rick, with just a quick hello.

She went back to scrolling, not really expecting a response this late.

~H~

Daryl woke up feeling like someone had ran him over with his own truck. His head ached, his muscles felt stiff and sore, his throat hurt and he was shivering. He wanted to go back to sleep but all he did was toss and turn. He felt miserable.

"Sons of bitches passed that shit right on to me," he grumbled to himself as he padded to the closet. He yanked a pair of sweat pants out and then grabbed a thermal shirt. He knew the house wasn't cold. He felt cold because he had the chills because he was likely running a fucking fever. He knew they had an array of medicine stashed in the cabinet above the fridge so he made his way downstairs, not needing to turn on any lights because he knew the house like the back of his hand.

Sure enough he found what he needed, washing the pills down with a glass of orange juice. Hopefully the vitamin C would help him get over this bullshit sooner. Still feeling like shit, but hopeful that the medicine would at least help him get back to sleep he made his way to the couch, not feeling like climbing back up the stairs.

He was just passing the old desk that the computer sat on, a computer Merle insisted on getting because his dumb ass was stuck in the house for the time being, when he heard a ding coming from the machine.

He was about to ignore it but then shrugged and tapped the mouse. The screen came to life and to his surprise he was looking at a picture of his brother that one of his friends had snapped on a hunting trip last summer. He frowned and pulled out the chair, sitting down heavily and then reading the info under the picture.

If he hadn't been feeling so bad he would have surely been laughing so hard that Merle would have woke up and came down to see what the hell was going on. Instead all he could do was snort and shake his aching head slowly. Merle Dixon, bad ass criminal, was a member of the same bullshit site as Rick Grimes. How goddamn sad. He'd even used a fake last name.

He leaned back, glancing towards the stairs but all was dark and quiet. He knew Merle was bored out of his mind and in dire need of social interaction but this was fucking insane. The man actually described himself as a home body. Daryl figured that was better than putting down that he was on house arrest for getting caught with narcotics and now had to be subjected to random drug tests. What a dumb ass. Oh Daryl was gonna have a lot of fun with this.

He looked up and noticed that there was a little blinking bubble with the number 1 in it next to the messages. That's probably what had caused the dinging sound. He glanced towards the stairs again and then fought the mouse so it would point at the message. The thing felt strange and unruly in his hand. He'd never really bothered using the computer except for looking up hunting gear to buy and videos about masonry he'd found.

A box popped up in the middle of the screen and he quickly read the message.

 _Hi, Merle._

That was all it said. It was from someone named Carol and he squinted at the tiny picture inside the box, trying to get a look at the woman but he couldn't really see. He clicked on the picture on a whim and suddenly the picture enlarged and he was staring at a blue eyed woman with a stylish pixie haircut looking off at something other than the camera. He stared, taking in her features, soft looking lips, wide eyes that were reflecting the light, delicate jaw, the long elegant column of her neck... "Who the fuck is this?" He muttered, not knowing why his interest was so piqued but unable to look away from the photo.

He ran a hand through his sweat dampened hair and clicked on the message box again. There was a green bubble letting him know that she was online. He was half tempted to respond but then Merle would know and he didn't have the slightest clue what the fuck he would say to her anyway. But goddamn if he didn't feel some weird pull to talk to this woman.

He reached up, turning on the lamp on the desk and then glancing down at the keys. He couldn't do this. Not only would this woman think that she was talking to someone named Merle, but then Merle would know that he was looking at his messages and then he'd have to listen to the man bitch for another four months.

He looked back up at the picture and then frowned. The green dot that indicated she was online was now gray. She was gone.

"Well fuck," he muttered, not understanding in the least why the hell he was bothered. He clicked on her name and it brought him to a page much like Merle's. He read over the information quickly. He clicked on the picture, thinking it would enlarge it but it took him to a whole album.

"Damn," he mumbled as his eyes scanned the photos. There were a lot, which caught him off guard for some reason. His eyes took in the photos slowly, taking his time. She didn't seem like the type that would be interested in his brother at all. She looked too... clean. She owned her own business. Daryl knew his brother, and this wasn't his brother's cup of tea at all.

But goddamn if it didn't seem like maybe she was Daryl's cup of tea. He couldn't remember ever being this goddamn interested in a woman in his life.

He finally brought up Merle's page again and then put the computer to sleep. He felt drained just from that little bit of activity. He collapsed on the couch, tugging at the quilt that hung over the back of it until he was wrapped up. Hopefully he would feel a little better in the morning.


	3. Chapter 3

**There should be an excessive cussing warning for this chapter. Hope you're enjoying your weekend. Thanks for reading!**

 **Chapter Three**

Carol woke up with the sun pouring into her room. Rolling over, knowing that this was going to be another boring day, she tried to go back to sleep. Of course it didn't work at all. She got up and wondered to the kitchen, hitting start on the coffee pot as she poured herself a bowl of Golden Grahams. It was her morning ritual. She was a cereal connoisseur of sorts. Not that she admitted that to anyone.

She was just about to pour a cup of coffee when she remembered that she had messaged two men last night and they very well could have messaged her back by now. The prospect had her rushing, taking her cup and her cereal to her office. She must have been a lot more lonely than she thought. She felt ridiculous actually but she couldn't help it.

She logged in and stared at the message icon that showed that she had received fifty three messages last night. She gaped. No way would that many men be interested since she changed her information. She was... well, she was boring!

She didn't read the messages, not yet, she simply sifted through the names until she saw one from one of the two men she had said hello to the night before. She stumbled upon Rick's first, clicking on it quickly.

 _Hello, Carol._

She laughed. The poor man seemed to be just as suave as she was. She sipped her coffee and thought of something to type. She scrunched up her face, thinking hard, her fingers poised over the keys. With a shrug she started typing, deciding to be as honest as she could.

 _Good morning. I'm going to warn you now that I have no idea what I'm even doing here._ Her face flamed as she sent the message. She was surprised when she got another one so soon.

 _That makes two of us then. A friend suggested trying this out. So far I've talked to a few nice people but have received more nude photos than polite replies. It's a strange world._

She laughed and started her next message. This was actually kind of exciting. Not that she thought that she would find an actual date on here but just chatting and getting to know someone new was much better than sitting around doing nothing. She took a bite of her cereal and then waited for his reply.

Fifteen minutes and several messages later he regretfully told her that he had to head off to work but asked if it was okay to message her again later. She responded that it was and then he was offline. She scrolled down until she saw a message from Merle Savage and she clicked on it. Her brows shot up.

~H~

Merle raised his brows as he studied the woman in the photo. She was good lookin' enough but she seemed a little... stiff. The whole reason he created this thing was so he could have better access to easy women. It worked too. He'd seen more tits in the last week than he had in person in the last year. Some of these chicks were wild as fuck. But this one didn't fit the bill. He should have checked her out before he sent a message telling her how hot he thought she was. Son of a bitch...

Then again, Merle Dixon never backed down from a challenge. If he could put it to some classy broad like this then that was a hell of a notch on his bedpost. Hell, he'd count her as a double score.

He rubbed a hand across his short cropped hair, thinking about what to say. He couldn't throw out any kind of game that he usually did. He'd have to use his head if he wanted to get anywhere with this lady but he'd already sent a message and now would have to do damage control.

He heard a low groan coming from the other side of the couch and hurriedly minimized the window. He didn't need his brother knowing that he'd sunk so low as to using the damn internet to hunt down willing women. It wasn't his damn fault that he was trapped in the goddamn house with not a fucking thing else to do. But he knew for a fact if he ever caught his brother doing some lame ass shit like this he'd hound him to the grave.

"You got the flu?" Merle asked, standing up and stretching.

"Fuckin Christ. Yeah, I do. Shoot me now and end this goddamn misery," Daryl groaned into the back of the couch.

Merle leaned down over the back of the couch, doing his big brother duty for a change and placing the back of his hand to Daryl's forehead. "Goddamn, boy. You got the creepin' crud for sure." Daryl was one tough mother fucker. He really was, and Merle secretly admired the hell out of him, but when the man was sick he turned into a goddamn eight year old.

"It's fuckin' bullshit," Daryl complained, rolling over and eying Merle.

Merle chuckled. "Well, I'll grab you somethin' for the fever. You ain't gonna puke or nothin' are you?"

Daryl shook his head. "No but bring me some juice too. I'm thirsty as fuck."

Merle pushed away from the couch and headed towards the kitchen, a slow smile on his face. Now he knew what he could say to the classy lady that had sent him the message last night.

~H~

Carol frowned. Reading over the message Merle had sent.

 _What in the hell is a hot woman like yourself doin' on the internet? You gotta have men knockin' your door down, darlin'._

Carol sighed and was ready to just delete the message without saying a word but then she saw that he was typing again. She tilted her head to the side, waiting to see what he would end up saying now. It was obvious that this man was not her type.

 _Sorry about that, ma'am. I'm lookin' after my disabled little brother and he must have gotten on here while I was makin' his breakfast._

"Aww, that poor man," Carol muttered, her frown deepening. He must have been something else to take on the burden of a disabled brother. She hurriedly typed out a message.

 _That's okay. I admire the fact that you care so much for family. I'm an only child myself._

~H~

Merle chuckled darkly. "Hook, line and sinker," he muttered.

"What?" Daryl asked from the couch.

"Nothin' little, brother. Go to sleep so your ass can get over it quicker."

 _Well, since it's just me and him I do what I can for him. He gets a little out of control sometimes but knowing he's getting the care he needs makes it all worth it._

"Merle!" Daryl called.

Merle glared at the back of the couch. "What, goddamn it!"

"Go get me my blanket off my bed, would ya? I'm freezin' to goddamn death over here."

Merle scowled. "Get it yourself you little fucker, or give me a minute anyway. I'm busy over here." He looked down at her reply and the scowl turned into a grin. She wanted to engage in some small talk about how he took care of his brother. This woman was hooked already. He could do small talk.

"Merle," Daryl groaned, turning his name into a multi syllable word.

"Would you shut up for a minute!" He started typing.

 _He's forty two years old but he has the mental capacity of a five year old. It gets hard at times but I don't care..._

"Merle, just go get the goddamn blanket!"

"Shut your fat face for five fuckin' minutes and I will! God, you whiny son of a bitch!" He read her message quickly.

 _Merle Savage, it takes an incredibly honorable man to do what you do._

"Indeed it does, Sugar Tits," he grinned.

"Fine you self centered cock sucker. I'll get it myself and if I pass out on the stairs and fall down them and break my neck and die I hope you feel damn bad about it," Daryl grumbled as he pulled himself up from the couch. "I'll haunt you till I drive you crazy. I'll shove a pineapple up your hairy ass while you sleep," he growled. "Then you'll wish you weren't a lazy dickhead."

Merle waved him away, "Go up there and rub one out. Make you heal faster."

 _"_ I seriously hate you right now," Daryl groaned as he started up the stairs.

~H~

Daryl collapsed onto his own bed and slept for a while. He didn't feel a whole lot better when he woke up but he was at least feeling a little more human. Merle was being a dick, forcing him to take care of his damn self. Any time Merle was sick he acted like the biggest asshole baby on the planet and Daryl had to take care of him himself. It was bullshit.

He sat up, swiping his hand across his face and glanced towards the window. He did a double take when he noticed the angle of the sun streaming in. He must have slept for a long time. He didn't feel rested but he felt a little less sore. He stood up and headed towards the stairs.

Merle was in the kitchen, whistling like an idiot while he fought with the bacon he was frying on the stove.

"Why the hell you whistlin'?" Daryl muttered, pulling out a chair and sitting down heavily.

Merle shrugged. "Oh you know, none of your business."

Daryl snorted and looked down at the dry toast Merle sat in front of him. "Ain't hungry."

"Don't give a fuck. You gotta eat. Here," he scooted a glass of ice water in front of him and a few pills.

He pushed the plate away but grabbed the medicine and drank down half of the water. "I ain't eatin'."

Merle pushed the plate back towards him and glared. "You can fuckin' eat it like a man or have it shoved down your stubborn throat like a bitch. I'll give you thirty seconds to decide how you want it."

Daryl glared right back but picked up the toast and took an oversized bite. "So why the hell are you in such a good mood, anyway?" He asked around the bite in his mouth.

Merle heaped what looked like a pound of bacon onto some bread and squashed it down with the heel of his hand before looking up. "Can't a man be happy for once? God, you aggravate the hell outta me when you get like this. You get sick and you get whiny and you get nosy as all hell. Eat your goddamn toast and go back to bed."

Daryl huffed and finished the food in silence.

"Thinkin' this place needs straightened up a bit," Merle said absently, his own mouth full.

Daryl raised a brow. "What the hell are you talkin' about? It ain't dirty."

Merle glanced around and Daryl followed his gaze. No, it wasn't exactly dirty but a good scrub down wouldn't hurt anything.

"Long as you don't expect me to do it. Till that bracelet comes off and I'm the one workin' all the time, your job is to keep this place up, not mine. Why the hell you want to clean it up anyway?"

Merle eyed him. "Cause maybe I want to invite some people over and I don't want it to look like shit when I do."

Daryl frowned and finished off the water, feeling better than he had when he'd woken up. Merle had had people over plenty of times but he'd never mentioned cleaning up the fucking house first. That was just weird. Well, it was for Merle anyway. "Your friends live in dumps. Why the hell would you clean up for them?"

Merle shrugged again but refused to answer. Daryl's head came up then, remembering the woman that had sent Merle a message on that stupid ass website the night before.

Carol. Her name had been Carol. Surely Merle wasn't actually thinking about trying something with a woman like that. Hell, Daryl could tell just by looking at her that she was too smart to fall for any dumb shit like what Merle could spout at her. And if she did fall for it then he had misjudged the hell out of her. Then again, when he wanted to, Merle could be damn convincing.

"Shit," he mumbled under his breath.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Carol hurriedly pulled the door open. She rarely locked it and Andrea rarely knocked but she had been a little out of sorts today and she wasn't thinking on her toes.

"You ready?" Andrea asked.

"Yeah, I have to stop by the drug store and pick up a few things and then we can go. Where are we going anyway?"

Andrea shrugged. "Your turn to choose."

"Mexican," Carol said quickly, checking her reflection in the mirror one more time before they headed out the door.

"So," Andrea began as she pulled out of the parking lot. "I got online earlier to check your inventory of suitors and low and behold, I couldn't get into your account. So I just logged into my own and found your profile. You locked me out so you could make yourself look... boring?"

Carol laughed. "Stop calling me boring." She had called herself that the night before but that was different. "I was going for honest."

"Well, you come off as honest all right," Andrea grumbled. "Honestly boring."

"Why am I even friends with you?" Carol asked with a sigh.

"Because I love you despite how boring you are."

They both laughed and then fell into a comfortable silence. She had been friends with Andrea for most of her life and the woman had always had a wild streak. That hadn't stopped her from graduating with honors, going to law school, and turning into a successful career woman, however, so Carol couldn't say a whole lot.

They pulled up at the drug store, parking next to a huge pick up truck. "I'll be right back," Carol said quickly, getting out and hurrying into the store. She had heard that the flu was going around and she wanted nothing to do with it. She was going to load up on vitamins. She couldn't afford to get sick when renovations on the bakery were due to be finished in less than a week.

~H~

Daryl scanned the shelves for something that might end this horrible fucking flu. He should have been at home in bed but his idiot brother couldn't leave the damn house and he wasn't about to call anyone else to do the errand for him. So he'd showered, dressed and dragged his sorry sick ass out so he could find something to end the misery that was this flu.

There was a whole lot of stuff that promised to get the job done but he wasn't sure which one looked the most promising. He finally knelt down, balancing on the balls of his feet as he reached for a bottle of Thera-Flu. The shit was expensive enough so hopefully it would work. He snatched the bottle up and was in the process of collecting enough strength to push himself up when he was suddenly knocked right onto his ass.

Someone had came speeding around the corner and tripped right over him. The woman shrieked until the fall cut off the sound abruptly. Daryl was lying there on his back, blinking up at the ceiling when the woman finally landed. He turned his head just in time to see her sitting up, but his eyes focused on something other than her face. When she had landed she landed in almost the same position he was in, but her legs were facing him. Her skirt was bunched up around her hips and he got a full on view of the crotch of red lacy panties.

She sat up quickly, shoving the skirt down and pushing herself up off the floor. Before he could pull himself up she was knelt down beside him, wide blue eyes taking in his face. "Oh my God, I am so sorry! Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

He blinked, unable to believe his luck. It was her. This was the same woman he had been ogling on that dating site the night before. "I'm fine I think," he muttered and let her help him to a sitting position, simply because he didn't feel like he had the energy to do it on his own. The fall had taken a lot out of him, and he hadn't had much to begin with.

She continued to help until he was standing directly in front of her. She looked more worried than she had any right to, considering he was a total stranger. He didn't even have time to flinch when her hand shot out, pressing against his forehead. "Oh, mister, you're burning up," she said frantically.

She glanced down and picked up the bottle of medicine that had flown out of his hand when she's slammed into him.

"This is so embarrassing, I mean it, I apologize for running into you like that. Like you don't already feel bad enough. You're obviously sick. Here," she said, shoving the bottle into his hand while he stood there staring at her.

"I'm sure I'll live," he said, his voice gruff.

"Do you need help with anything? I mean, finding anything? I've dealt with this before and it isn't easy trying to wonder around a store when you feel so horrible," she rambled. "Here, stay right here and I'll be right back."

He opened his mouth to tell her he was fine and could do his own damn shopping, thank you very much, but she was hurrying away. He was sick but not so sick that his eyes didn't focus on the way her ass swung in that flowy skirt she was wearing. Was this woman really going to talk to his goddamn loser brother? Surely not.

He sighed, ran a hand through his hair and turned towards the check out counter. He wouldn't have minded listening to her and standing there like she told him to do but all he wanted to do was get the hell out of here and go to damn bed. Just the thought of the drive home was taxing enough. With the bottle clutched in his clammy hand he moved off to stand in line. There was a crowd in here tonight but that didn't surprise him since half the damn town was sick.

He glanced over his shoulder and saw her walking towards him, her face still a mask of concern. Too goddamn bad he couldn't bring her ass back home with him. He'd surely get taken care of then. She seemed a lot more concerned at his sorry state than his brother was.

She smiled uncertainly and held up the basket of goods once she made it to him. "This should do the trick."

He shook his head. "Lady, I brought just enough money to buy this and be on my way. Thanks anyway," he grumbled turning because if he was facing her he was going to stare at her and he didn't want to do that.

"Don't be ridiculous. This is my treat. It's the least I can do for running over you when you feel bad already."

If he was more like his brother he would have told her that the free crotch shot in those sexy fucking underwear made it worth the trip itself but he wasn't Merle and even thinking it made him feel like an asshole. She was nice and caring and all he could think about was getting better within the next five minutes and then chewing those panties right off her ass. "What the fuck?" He hissed under his breath, unable to believe that he'd think something like that. Maybe he was sicker than he thought. Maybe he had swine flu, cause he was sure acting like a goddamn pig.

"Please?"

He glanced over his shoulder and caught her shifting from one foot to the other. Her teeth sank into her bottom lip and she was gazing at him from under the fan of her lashes. He sighed. "Fuck it. If what you got is gonna shorten this damn flu then by all means," he gestured to the spot in front of him and was rewarded with a brilliant smile that left him dumbstruck. None of the pictures he'd seen of her did her a goddamn bit of justice.

"Thank you, it really will make me feel better. When you get home just have your wife brew you up some of this tea and have her add-"

"I ain't married," he said, his brows pulling down in a frown.

"Oh! Well, okay. I guess you can do it on your own then. Just make yourself some of this tea and add this," she held up a large jar of organic honey. "And then stir one of these around in it for a few minutes," she held up a container of cinnamon sticks. "Then take one of these vitamins and one of these supplements and then drink some Gatorade to keep your electrolytes up. And, of course, you can take the medicine too. You keep that up and this should pass in a few days instead of a week, which is how long this stupid flu is lasting."

He stared at her until she turned around to face the person in front of them, obviously embarrassed that she'd just rambled. "You some sort of nurse or somethin'?" He asked.

She glanced over her shoulder and smiled. "Not at all. I own a bakery in the historic district."

"Cakes by Carol?" He asked, raising a brow.

She grinned. "You've been there?"

He shook his head and realized that that caused it to ache and winced. "Nah, I live just a few blocks from there though. Thought about stopping in a time or two but never got around to it."

"We're neighbors then! I live in the apartment above the store. I'll tell you what, get yourself better and come by next week. I'll serve up whatever you'd like, on the house."

He idly wondered if another view of her crotch was on the menu and then he grimaced. He was forty two fucking years old for God's sake! What the hell had gotten into him? "Sounds good," he said instead. He couldn't believe that she lived right around the block from his own house. What were the odds of all these fucked up coincidences?

Another one of those smiles and then she turned back, facing front. He leaned against the counter and stared at her ass as the line slowly moved forward. He wanted to keep her talking but he felt so fucking tired that he couldn't really think of anything to say. Instead he waited until she was all checked out, waiting for him to pay for his stupid medicine.

She fell in step beside him as they headed out the door. The sun was already down now and he realized that had taken a lot longer than he expected. "Well, here you go," she said, stopping next to a car that was parked right by his truck. She held out the bag.

"You really didn't have to buy all this," he muttered, taking the bag from her. His fingers brushed over hers in the exchange and he felt a strange thrill shoot up his spine. Her eyes widened and he had a suspicion that maybe she felt it too.

"I wanted to. Least I could do. You'll be better before you know it."

He nodded but didn't make a move to get into his truck and she didn't make a move to get in the car. Instead they both just stood there like a couple of fucking idiots, waiting on the other to either move away or say something.

"I hope you get a chance to stop by the bakery," she said suddenly.

He nodded. "Soon as I can stomach the thought of biting into some sweet stuff I'll be around."

Her face turned crimson at his words and he cursed inwardly when he replayed them in his head. Why the hell was she blushing? He was the one that sounded like a goddamn creep.

"Well, I'll see around," she said, turning.

"See ya, Carol," he muttered, ready to turn himself. He stopped when he saw her stiffen, glancing over her shoulder with a frown.

"How did you know my name?"

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck... "You must have mentioned it inside."

She tilted her head. "I don't think so," she said.

He shrugged. "How else would I have known your name?"

She smiled, her brow smoothing out. "I guess you're right. Oh! It was probably the name of the bakery. Cakes by Carol wouldn't really make sense unless my name was Carol. What's yours anyway?"

"Daryl Dixon," he said, hoping that the woman never found out that he was related to Merle. For the first time he was damn glad that Merle used a different last name on that dating site. If she knew Merle was Daryl's brother she probably wouldn't want to talk to him again.

She laughed, the sound causing the corner of his mouth to turn up. "Daryl and Carol. That's cute."

His brows shot up at that and then her face flushed again.

"Oh my God," she grumbled out loud. "I better go."

He nodded slowly, watching as she got in the passenger seat and shut the door. Pulling himself into his truck he waited until the car pulled out of site before he even started the truck. One thing he knew for sure, there was no way Merle would want anything to do with a woman like Carol. She was so far from that man's type that she may as well have been a different species than Merle's regular women. And that was a good thing because for the first time in his life, Daryl seriously wanted to pursue a woman.

"Cute my ass," he muttered, smiling to himself and pulling out of the parking lot.


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for the short chapter. Hope you get a few laughs out of it anyway. Thanks for reading!**

 **Chapter Five**

Carol felt a strange nervous energy that she simply couldn't shake once they sat down for dinner. Andrea hadn't said anything about the man that Carol had been talking to and she was glad but she knew that her friend wasn't going to be able to hold on much longer. On cue Andrea slammed her menu down and stared at her with a slow smile.

"Who the hell was that man?" She asked.

Carol shrugged, sitting her own menu on top of Andrea's and taking a sip of her water. "He was just someone I ran into at the drug store. A stranger, really."

Andrea rolled her eyes and leaned closer, crossing her arms on the table. "Cut the crap, Carol Ann. Is he an ex that I know nothing about? Someone you met at the bakery that you just conveniently failed to mention? Come on!"

Carol laughed and shook her head. "I've never met the man before tonight in my life. I actually tripped over him in an isle at the store. I've never seen him before."

Andrea rolled her eyes. "That's a lie. You've had sex with that man before."

Carol's mouth dropped open. "I have not!"

Andrea toyed with the umbrella sticking out of her drink. "The tension was so thick around you two that even I started getting horny. That doesn't happen to people unless they've at least seen each other naked. He can't be a stranger."

"Well, he _is_ a stranger." Of course, she sure as hell wouldn't mind seeing him naked...

Carol looked up, thankful their appetizers had finally arrived. She thought about that weird jolt that went through her when his fingers has slid over hers when she'd handed him the get well bag and she felt her face flushing. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She was being ridiculous. Their fingers had touched. It wasn't like they had made out or anything. Her body must have been seriously starved for some male attention because that level of heat shouldn't have happened just by that small contact.

"You're blushing," Andrea said as she dabbed at the corner of her mouth with a napkin.

"I'm not blushing. You're ridiculous," Carol grumbled, blushing even harder.

~H~

What the fuck are you doin'?" Merle asked, lumbering into the kitchen. "And what the hell took you so damn long?"

Daryl shrugged. "I'm makin' some... tea."

"Sweet tea? Hell yeah," Merle said, reaching into the cabinet and grabbing a large glass.

Daryl turned, coffee cup in hand, steeping the bag of tea that Carol had purchased. "No not sweet tea." He reached for the box, "It's... well... it's herbal tea." He looked up. "With lemon," he muttered.

Merle stared at him, his face screwed up in confusion. "You turnin' into some kinda butt pirate on me? Herbal tea? You serious?" He chuckled.

"Fuck _off_ ," Daryl grumbled, his face flaming because he hadn't paid any attention to what the hell kind of tea it was. He was willing to drink Yak piss if it made him better, though but he wished like hell he had waited for Merle to go to bed before making any. "It's good shit if you got the flu."

Merle reached around him, snatching a jar off the counter and holding it up. "Organic Raw Honey?" He scowled. "Little brother, what the fuck happened to you at the drug store? You buy yourself any of them fuzzy pink slippers to go with your herbal tea with lemon? Some aloe infused toe socks? A bra for your newly budding boobies?"

"Shut up, I done told you that it was good for you if you had the flu." He snatched the jar out of Merle's hand and followed Carol's instructions. Merle watched as he took a tentative sip of the mixture. He was surprised that it didn't taste half bad. Then he remembered the cinnamon and grabbed the stick he'd gotten ready before heating the water up. He started stirring it around in the cup, keeping is eyes down.

"What the hell is that?" Merle asked.

Daryl sighed, ignoring him.

"All natural cinnamon sticks?" Merle started braying like a jackass.

Daryl shouldered past him and walked back towards the living room. It wasn't like he could even blame Merle for giving him shit because he'd do the same if he found Merle drinking this frilly shit. It didn't matter though because the woman had paid for all of this out of her own damn pocket and he wasn't going to just toss it all out because he didn't want to listen to his big brother make fun of him. So he drank the tea and kept his eyes on the television.

"I'm callin' it a night, little brother," Merle said as he headed for the stairs.

Daryl nodded.

"Hey, you think you can do me favor?" Merle asked, pausing at the foot of the stairs.

Daryl looked up, saw the serious look on Merle's face and then shrugged. "Sure."

"I've been havin' a dreadful time fallin' asleep at night. Could you pick me up some Lavender oil mist so I can squirt some on my pillow shams to help me out with that?"

Daryl glared.

"Oh," Merle added, his features still schooled. "I also wouldn't mind some fresh crushed rose petals for my next soak in the tub. I hear it's good for the vagina."

"Goddamn it!" Daryl growled and threw a phone book at Merle's head.

Merle dodged it and headed up, laughing and shaking his head. "Goddamn cinnamon sticks for his herbal tea. What a little girl."

"Goddamn asshole," Daryl muttered, finishing off the tea. He sat there for another few minutes and then went back to the kitchen to take the vitamins and finally, take a dose of the medicine that was the whole damn reason for his trip out in the first place.

Strangely enough, he wasn't very sleepy, despite being sick. When he passed the computer he hesitated and then couldn't resist. He needed to see what the hell Merle said to Carol. He was hoping to see her put him in his place, call him a pig, tell him to go to hell with his perverted self. He smiled. He couldn't claim to really know the woman, but he could tell that she wasn't the type to fall for Merle's tactics at all.

This was better than TV. He found the website, sighed in relief that Merle hadn't logged out, and then clicked on the messages, scrolling until he found the ones from Carol. He read the first one and shook his head. Merle was such a...

His eyes went wide as he continued to read.

"You sorry sack of goddamn shit!" He hissed, his face flaming as he took in their conversation.

She thought he was mentally handicapped. And she thought that his big hero brother took the burden of caring for him on his shoulders. She was falling for it too, he could tell. He knew what Merle was doing. This was a game and she was a conquest. Merle was going to get her here eventually and then he was gonna screw her.

The anger was unexpected but intense. She was a nice person for fucks sake! Hell, she didn't know him at all and she'd instantly been concerned that he was sick and had even paid for the crap that she claimed would make him better. She deserved a lot better than some ass hat playing games with her. And that's all she was to his loser brother. A game.

And he couldn't even say anything because if he did then Merle would know that he'd been nosy enough to actually snoop through his stupid dating page.

If he knew her better then he'd just tell her himself but he didn't know her and it wasn't really any of his business what the hell Merle did with her. But for some weird fucked up reason it felt like his business.

He looked up at the clock and cursed when he saw that it was already eleven thirty. The tea and the medicine and everything else that he'd ingested had him feeling at least half way better. Better enough to make another trip.

He went to stand up but then stopped with his hands braced on the arm of the chair. "Wait a minute. This is crazy, right?" He asked the empty room. But he knew it didn't matter. Crazy or not he squared his shoulders, reaching for his wallet. He counted the bills and then nodded. With Merle on good behavior they had a little money put back. Or he did anyway.

He grabbed his keys and headed out the door, shaking his head at himself because this was insane. This was really fucking stupid. But he didn't turn around. He got in his truck and pulled out, heading to the Super Center on the other side of town that he knew was open twenty four hours. He didn't glance over when he passed the bakery. Maybe he'd somehow lost his mind between last night and now but he wasn't a fucking stalker.

Was he?

No, of course not. Not in the literal sense. He was just doing what he could do to look out for a silly gullible woman that had fallen into some kind of sick trap that his brother had laid out. Merle hadn't gone after her specifically. She was just the fly that got caught and he was going to do what he could to kick her out of that web. She wouldn't even know it was him.

~H~

Carol tossed her keys on the table and then took off for her office. She'd had a great conversation with Merle earlier and Rick was rather charming as well. She wasn't taking this very seriously at all. She wasn't really looking for a man, but it was fun. More fun than she had had in a long time.

She hoped that one of them were online because she wanted to talk to someone that could take her mind off of that poor sick man she had plowed over in the drug store. He had been pale and sweaty and disheveled but that hadn't mattered. She had felt an instant desperate attraction to him that had shocked and confused her, and apparently even Andrea had sensed it.

She sighed when neither of the men were there. It would have been a great way to forget about the flu riddled Daryl. The poor thing. Hopefully he followed her instructions and would feel better soon. And hopefully she would figure out a way to see him again. He said he lived close so surely she would run into him somewhere. And when she did she would be prepared and she wouldn't babble on and on like an idiot. He probably thought she was seriously lame. She'd had just been so stunned at the strangely intense attraction she had felt towards the man.

She logged off and headed for the shower. She would soak in a hot bath, drink a glass of wine, and she would relax her frayed nerves and then she would be able to kick this odd feeling that had plagued her since her trip to the store.

That would surely work.


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry for the delay! I had no internet. Story of my life, I know. Hope you're all having a great week and, Vicki, I'm almost finished with your annual Birthday story so no worries there!**

 **Chapter Six**

Daryl spent the next few days drinking tea and resting as much as he could stand. He didn't get back on the computer downstairs because he'd bought himself his own. He had been almost embarrassed when he had paid for the damn thing. Like the cashier would be able to tell that he was only buying it to talk to some woman that he wasn't really sure he would ever really be able to talk to in person.

He shamefully created his own account on the site. He didn't post a picture and the personal info was pretty brief. Male. Forty two. Interested in meeting new people. And he used a phony name. Darrin Smith. He couldn't come up with a name more elaborate than that.

He blamed it all on the flu. If he'd been able to get out and do some hunting or go to work then it would have been different. He'd never even looked at that dumb ass computer downstairs and he never would have seen the woman and he wouldn't be sitting in his room, a grown man, with a fake dating site profile. It was pathetic and embarrassing and he didn't want to think about it too much. He was only doing this out of boredom and some urge to save the woman the heartache of dealing with his brother's little game. That was it.

He was better now for the most part and he knew that the next day he would be able to go back to work, maybe stop in at the bar afterwords and have a burger with Rick Grimes. Maybe his life would go back to normal starting tomorrow. But today, he was ready to look at the message that he had received in reply to his own.

He hovered over the message without clicking it. He had thought that the likelihood of her replying at all to his simple hello was slim. But she had replied and as soon as he had seen that she replied he had closed the computer and went downstairs to lounge on the couch. But now he was going to have to talk to her.

He was seriously bad at talking to women. _Really_ bad at talking to women. Oh, sure, he had had a few flings in his life but none that had ever amounted to anything. He had never wanted them to amount to anything. But it had been a long time since he'd had one of those. And now he found himself feeling like he absolutely had to get to know this woman and he didn't really understand why.

Sure, she was nice. He knew that already. She was beautiful, but that was just a plus. He didn't know why he felt this urge and that was the reason he was fighting it so hard. With a heavy sigh he finally opened the message and stared at the words on the screen.

 _Hi, Darrin. Hope this message finds you doing well._

He chewed on the inside of his lip for a few long moments and then the green icon indicating she was online came on. This was so goddamn wrong. He shouldn't be sitting here under a false name, having a conversation with this woman. He didn't even know what the fuck to say! Not that he would have better luck in person. He leaned his back against the headboard and stared for a while before he wrote anything back.

 _I'm good. How about yourself?_

He flushed, not even sure why he was so embarrassed. Probably because he was feeling guilty. Her next message popped up quickly.

 _Actually I'm home with the flu. I ran right over some poor man in the Drug store the other day and I think I must have caught it from him. It isn't so bad though._

"Shit," he muttered, his pulse picking up. She was talking about him. She was talking about him _to_ him which was just weird. And he'd given her the fucking flu!

 _That's not good. Guy should have stayed home instead of spreading his germs. Sorry to hear that you're sick._ He sent the message and waited nervously for her to reply.

 _It wasn't his fault. He was just there for medicine when I turned the corner and tripped over him. He was a very sweet man._

God, he couldn't just sit here and talk about himself with this woman! It was bad enough that he was talking to her at all!

 _Glad to hear you ain't a grudge holder._

She sent a smiley face and he found himself smiling despite himself. He waited for her next message.

 _So, have you met many nice people on this site? I've only been a member for a few days and happy to say that I've met a few seemingly decent people. People willing to keep a sick woman company anyway._

He snorted because he knew one man she was talking to and he sure as shit wasn't decent. Goddamn Merle.

 _Actually your the first person I've talked to. I just made an account, but I don't mind keeping a sick woman company._

And that was how it all started. Daryl hadn't expected to sit there in bed and spend the next four hours actually talking to a woman. He'd never talked so goddamn much in all his life. The hours flew past and he was honest with her about everything but his name. He was honest because it was easy. He didn't have to look her in the eye and worry about messing up, which would have stressed him out. She knew that he was a brick layer and she seemed genuinely interested in the job, which had surprised him. She knew that he lived with his brother. Two very different bachelors under the same roof. She knew that he preferred the outdoors to sitting inside. All of it was so fucking... easy. It felt good just to talk without worrying. He always seemed to be worrying about something but now, he felt like he didn't really have a care in the world.

He learned a lot about her too. Things that he hadn't expected to learn either. She told him about losing her husband. She explained that it was her friend, not herself, that had decided to plunge her into the world of online dating. She talked about her business and she talked about things that she enjoyed. And when she had confessed that she'd never really spent much time outdoors, not even one family camping trip, he even teased her. It didn't really surprise her but it had him. He didn't fucking _tease_ people.

When it had gotten so late that he had no choice but to go to bed if he was ever going to get up for work the next day, she seemed sad that he had to go.

He was in a good mood when he laid down. He thought about the woman he'd spent much time getting to know and he wanted to know more. He thought about how nice she had been, how concerned she was for a total stranger. He thought about her eyes and her smile. And then his good mood dimmed as sleep started pulling him under. Because he felt like maybe she liked him too but he'd spent all this time talking to her under a false name.

He tossed and turned for a while after that but eventually, sleep pulled him under.

~H~

Work was rough. Daryl thought that maybe he should have taken it easy for one more day but they really couldn't afford it. He'd dropped a few hundred dollars of the money he had saved up on a damn computer so he didn't want to miss anymore work. By the time he pulled up at the bar, ready for a beer and some unhealthy food, he was worn out. He should have went straight home and slept but he knew if he did that then he'd be up for half the night again. Better to force himself to stay awake until a more suitable bedtime.

Rick's cruiser was already there so at least the other man's idle chatter would keep him from falling asleep over his plate. The man waved as Daryl strolled inside the welcoming dimness of the bar. He noted that Rick actually looked better than he usually did. The man had a dark gloomy cloud over his head most of the time but not today. It was odd.

"Heard you had yourself a bad case of the flu," Rick noted as Daryl sat down on the stool next to him.

Daryl nodded. "Got over it pretty quick." He gave the bartender his order and then turned to his friend. "You look like the cat that caught the canary. Lori come down with the flu too?"

Rick laughed. "Actually, yeah, she did. Heard it was pretty bad. That's not the reason for the good mood though. I have two dates this weekend if all plays out well."

Daryl raised a brow. "Two dates, huh? That was fast."

Rick thanked the bartender as he sat his food in front of him. "Yeah, well, I told you that a dating site wasn't too bad."

"And you don't feel bad for dating two women?" Daryl asked.

Rick shook his head. "It's nothing serious. Hell, I don't even really know them yet. That's what it's for. You meet new people and you hope eventually you end up meeting the right one. Friday night I'm taking out a woman named Michonne. Been divorced for a while and I've been talking to her regular since breaking down and joining." Rick ate in silence for a while after that.

When Daryl's food finally came he decided to ask about the other woman, since it seemed like Rick just assumed he wasn't interested. Which he really wasn't but he knew that Rick didn't confide in many people and for whatever reason, Daryl was one of the few.

Rick grinned. "Saturday I'm actually taking a widow out."

Daryl snorted. "You're seriously on the prowl, huh?"

With a shake his head Rick chewed thoughtfully. "Nah. She's been widowed for ten years. She runs the bakery not far from your place actually." Rick looked over sharply when Daryl choked on the unchewed food he'd just swallowed. "Christ, Dixon. You're not an animal. Chew before you swallow."

Daryl cleared his throat and took a long drink from the mug sitting untouched in front of him. "Carol?" He asked, hoping that there was another widow that owned a bakery near his place.

Rick nodded. "Yeah, you know her?"

Daryl shook his head, his face flaming. He couldn't tell the man that he had spent half the damn night talking to the woman. "Ran into her at the drug store last week when I first got sick. Well, she ran into me, anyway."

"Are you okay? You look like you still might be a little sick," Rick said with a frown, searching his face.

Daryl nodded. "Yeah. I'll probably order Merle somethin' and get a to go box." He couldn't fucking believe this bullshit. First Merle was trying to sink his hooks into the woman and now she was about to go out with Rick fucking Grimes, who already had a goddamn date with someone else.

He was an idiot to think that just talking to her would be a way to somehow stop her from talking to anyone else. Rick was right, the whole reason for a website like that was so people could meet and talk to new people. So she could very well talk to him, or the person he had made up, and talk to Rick at the same time. But damn if that didn't piss him off a little.

Rick could get plenty of other women if he put himself out there. He had that charisma about him that Daryl lacked. If anyone needed to talk to women online instead of in person it was Daryl! And now here Rick comes, swooping in with his badge and his bullshit charm.

"You think either of these dates are gonna lead to anything?"

Rick chuckled. "You don't have to pretend like you're interested. You made your feelings on the subject perfectly clear when you made fun of me about it last week. But actually, yeah. I really do think maybe one will."

Daryl's stomach felt sour. "Which one?"

Rick shrugged. "They're both pretty great but Michonne," he shook his head. "Well, me and her just kind of clicked."

He nodded, a strange sense of relief allowing him to take another bite of his food. "Well, good luck with Michonne, then, Grimes."

Rick stared at him but then went back to his food when Daryl didn't say anything else.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

Andrea did a double take when Carol answered her question. "Excuse me? Did you just say you had a date?"

Carol shrugged, leaning back into her couch, feeling smug that she was able to surprise her friend with that unexpected answer. "It's more like a friendly get together actually. It isn't like it'll go anywhere but the prospect of spending time with someone new is pretty exciting."

"Which one!" Andrea exclaimed, clearly more excited by the news than Carol was, which made her feel a little guilty.

"Rick."

Andrea made a face. "The cop?"

Carol nodded, trying not to let her disappointment show. Rick was a really sweet man but there really wasn't a spark of anything as far as she could tell.

"How many men are you talking to regularly?" Andrea asked.

Carol glanced at her and then back down at her cup. "Three. Is that awful?" She asked, looking up at her friend.

Andrea grinned, shaking her head and causing her blonde waves to dance across her shoulders. "Not really. I've been talking to ten."

With a roll of her eyes Carol laughed at that. "Why did I even ask?"

Andrea waved her off. "Actually, only one has really sparked my interest but the others are nice and fun to talk to for the most part. I can tell by the look on your face that you aren't really feeling it with this Rick guy. Which one has you hooked?"

Carol shrugged lightly and stood up. "There's this guy, Darrin, and every time I talk to him I feel like I'm talking to someone that I've known my whole life. He makes me laugh and he's just as new to all of this as I am. I think I look forward to talking to him the most. But right now I have to get back to work. I hate opening so late but this place has been shut down for a week and I'm ready to see some of my regulars." She was so happy that she had been able to go back to her kitchen this morning and prepare to open her doors back up. The place had needed the upgrades and the space was all brand new and much more efficient but the time off, and the flu she had spent days fighting off, had her ready to dive back in.

"Okay, that's my cue. I don't feel like getting flour all over me so I'm going home. I was worried you were still sick."

Carol followed her down the steps and out into the midsummer heat. "I've just been busy." She flushed and it had nothing to do with the temperature.

"You've been holed up in your office falling in love with a man you haven't even met."

Carol snorted and pushed Andrea towards her car. "It's hardly love. It's just exciting. Would it make you happy if I said that you were right?"

Andrea put her hands on her hips. "Actually no. I was really looking forward to giving you the I told you so. You've ruined it. I was hoping I could just detect your elation and then rub it in your face." She grinned and then got into her car.

Carol laughed and unlocked the door, stepping in and smiling as the familiar smell of homemade sweets filled her nose. She had missed this place. She was lucky that it was such a small success. She learned after opening the place that bakeries were notorious for going under quickly. She had great customers though and she was sure she owed most of the success to them and getting the name of the place out there.

She was just finishing up filling one of the display cases when the sound of the bell had her looking up. She nearly dropped the assortment of desserts when she saw who was standing there. She hurriedly shoved them into the case and stood up, wiping her hands on the apron and coming around the counter.

"Daryl!" She exclaimed with a smile that she tried to fight because she knew that she probably looked like a crazy person.

He blinked, looking surprised that she remembered his name at all and then he nodded in greeting, his blue eyes flicking around the room. He stuck out like a sore thumb in the bright space with his dark clothes and brooding good looks but she was thrilled to see him, even though she had no idea what that was even about. "Figured I'd stop by since I never have before. Wanted to say thanks for the advice. Flu didn't last half as long for me as it did for everybody else that came down with it."

She saw color brighten his face and then, without thinking, she grabbed his arm and started hauling him towards the table closest to her counter, just in case someone else came in. "I ended up with it myself and it was miserable.

"Probably caught it from me then," he mumbled, looking so uncomfortable that she felt bad for dragging him through the room. He sat down heavily in the wrought iron chair.

She shook her head. "Nonsense. I think we're all destined to come down with that damn flu. It's spread like wildfire around here. Are you hungry?"

He shrugged, clearly unsure what to say to her. His shyness didn't match his looks at all. Especially now that he wasn't sick. When she had first seen him he had been pale and sweaty and disheveled but still, his looks had been striking. Now she didn't want to look away from him. But she couldn't just sit there and stare at him. "What's the best thing you got?" He finally asked.

She pursed her lips and then made a great show of pondering, when she already knew what she'd serve him. "Pie. You look like a pie man and I have the best in the state."

He stared at her, that blush deepening but his pupils grew a little larger.

When she realized how she had sounded she gasped, her face burning. "Oh my God. That sounded horrible."

He swallowed and shook his head. "I'll try your pie." He seemed to wince. "I mean..."

"Jesus," she muttered standing up as he ran a hand through his hair. "I'll be right back. Don't leave!" She called from over her shoulder. Son of a bitch what in the holy hell was wrong with her! She grumbled to herself as she got two sample plates ready. When she came back around he was still sitting in the same chair but he was gnawing on his thumbnail and he looked more nervous than he had a minute ago.

He looked up when she came around the counter, handing him the plate and then sitting back down across from him. She didn't know what it was about this man that had her so worked up. His brows shot up when he looked at the assortment on the place.

"I know it's a lot but I wasn't sure what kind you would like so I just thought you could try a little bit of a lot."

The corner of his mouth turned up but he didn't look at her. Instead he grabbed the fork and dug right in. He stopped mid chew, his eyes widening. "Fuckin' Christ, woman. You really do have the best damn pie in the state."

She laughed at that and started in on her own, feeling a little less awkward. "I should be as big as a house. Working here I have no choice but to sample a lot."

He eyed her, chewing thoughtfully. "You ever need a taste tester, I'm up for volunteering. I don't give a damn if I get fat."

She smiled, catching her lip with her teeth as she watched him. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind."

~H~

Talking to her in person was a lot more difficult than talking to her online. He couldn't seem to stop the goddamn heat from rising in his face every goddamn time she looked at him and she had to think that he was a complete fucking idiot by now. Merle was right. He was a total mental case. This was insane. He should have been able to talk to her easier than this. Hell, he'd talked to her every damn day for a week.

"So, Daryl, what do you do for a living?" She asked after she took their plates to the back.

"I've been a mason for about fifteen years..." Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck!

Her eyes widened. "Really? A friend of mine is in that line of work. Well, not friend exactly. I'm not sure what he is. Darrin Smith? Do you know him?"

Daryl took a long sip of the coffee she had brought him. He usually didn't drink it this late but it was buying him a little more time with her. He shook his head. "Never heard of him."

She smiled, her finger tracing the rim of the cup. "Well, if you met him I'm sure the two of you would hit it off. You're both very sweet."

He snorted. "That's what my brother says. I'm the sweet one and he's the jackass."

She smiled. "You have a brother?"

He nodded, rolling his eyes. "Yeah. M-Mike," he said, barely catching the slip up. This was fucking hard! He had to keep her from knowing he was Merle's brother and he couldn't let her find out that he was this guy she seemed to like so damn much. Damn it, why the hell had he done that? He could have just done this. He could have stopped in here and talked to her in person and gotten to know her. Instead he had fucked up big time and he was just now realizing it. He like this woman! This was a total clusterfuck of his own making.

"Where did you meet this Darrin guy at anyway? He a regular?" He asked, wondering if she would tell the truth.

Her face flushed and she looked down. "Actually, I've never really met him in person. I talk to him online. I have a few friends I talk to but he's the one I enjoy talking to the most. There's another guy, Rick, I'm meeting him Friday night, out at that bar off highway 31. He says they have great food so I figured it was a safe enough place. I didn't want to meet up with him somewhere alone. Actually, the date was suppose to be Saturday but he's taking someone else out and the woman had to switch days on him. Some mix up with her babysitter or something." She rambled.

Daryl nodded. "That place ain't half bad. It does have good food and the crowd never gets too rowdy either."

"You've been there?" She asked.

He nodded. "I usually stop in and have a beer or two a week, with Rick Grimes, actually."

She perked up. "So you know him?"

Daryl nodded. "Yeah. We've been friends for a while."

"So he isn't some sort of serial killer posing as a police officer or anything?" She asked, looking like she was only half joking.

Daryl laughed. "Nah. You might die of boredom but other than that, you'll be safe."

She grinned. "Do you go there on, say, Friday nights very often?"

He shook his head. "I don't think you'd get so bored on your date that you'd need me hoverin' around to make sure you have fun. I ain't too fun myself actually."

"Well, it isn't a date, really. My mission was to meet new people. Make friends with others that I normally wouldn't meet otherwise. We've shared dessert and coffee so actually, this is the closest thing to a date I've been on in twelve years or more so... I mean, not that this is a date or anything. I just meant that..."

He laughed, the sound surprising him. She was as bad at this shit as he was. "Tell ya what. You go ahead and try to survive the night with Rick and then if you stop in there on Saturday night, I'll see you there."

She raised one eyebrow at him, seeming to relax. "Are you asking me on a date?"

His brows came together in a frown. "Am I? Fuck, I don't even know. But if you want to hang out, I'll be there. I gotta run though."

She stood up when he did. "I'll see you Saturday then."

He chewed the inside of his lip and nodded. "Sounds good."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

He didn't really know what had possessed him to go into that bakery. The night he had met her, the night she'd literally ran right into him, she had told him to stop by and so when he had driven past and saw her standing outside the place, talking to some blonde woman, he'd not been able to resist pulling into the parking lot.

He hadn't gone back since that day, but he had wanted to. It wasn't easy trying to keep up with things though. He had screwed up once by telling her the truth about what he did for a living, momentarily forgetting that he had told her online, as Darrin Smith, that he was a mason. Then he'd nearly said that his bother's name was Merle. He wasn't used to talking to women as it was, talking to her without making himself look like a goddamn idiot was even harder, add all that to having no choice but to lie to her and that made it much worse.

And goddamn he felt guilty. He felt extra guilty because she was so fucking nice. She was great. And he wasn't any better than his slack jawed cartoon porn watching asshole of a brother. And even though he knew how wrong it was, he still talked to her online. He talked to her online because, even though he was using a different name, it was him that she was talking to and it was him that she seemed to like so much. The stories, those were his. The person that she was talking to online was _him_. The real him. The him that he had never really been able to be in person before. He told her things he'd never told another soul and it was okay because even if she did judge him, he wouldn't see it.

But he liked her and he wanted to be able to see her. Hell, take her out sometime and see if they really did get along as good in person as they seemed to online.

This was awful. He felt depressed. It was stupid and he knew it but he felt that way regardless. And then tonight was the night she was going out with Rick. Rick who informed him the more he talked to Carol, the more he liked her and he was planning on asking her to dinner somewhere else once he met her at the bar. A fancier place because she seemed like a classier lady than just someone that would be satisfied with a burger in a bar.

Daryl knew for a fact that a burger in a bar was right up her alley but he didn't say anything to Rick about that. They were going to meet there, have a drink or two and then head out for a real dinner. And they were expected to meet right now.

He wondered if they were already there and if she talked to Rick like she had talked to him at the Bakery that day. Merle was busy playing cards with a buddy of his and Daryl was damn restless. He decided to say fuck it and show up at the bar. Hell, she had invited him, right? Then maybe he could fuck up Rick's plans.

He was a sick bastard and he knew it. He knew it but there wasn't a damn thing to be done about it. He couldn't just sit here and wait for her to get home and talk to her as Darrin Smith. He wanted to talk to her himself.

When he pulled up the place was packed and just his luck she was just getting out of her car. He parked in the back, watching like a fucking freaky asshole stalker as Rick pulled up. Carol stopped, glancing around like she was waiting for the man and when Rick approached her she smiled. Daryl scowled when Rick hugged her and then led her inside by the hand.

"Fucker," Daryl muttered under his breath. It wasn't Rick's fault though. Damn it, it was his own. Rick was his friend but Rick had said himself that he was more interested in the other woman. Why the hell did he have to try to charm Carol? Daryl told her Rick was boring but that wasn't really true. The two of them could very well decide that they actually liked each other a lot and then there goes his chances.

He worried his lip, trying to talk himself out of what he decided to do next but he couldn't. He got out of his truck and then hopped up onto the bed, reaching for the tackle box that was always there. He rummaged in it for a few minutes until he found what he needed and then he jumped down, glancing around the parking lot to make sure no one was watching.

He felt a little bad but fuck, Rick didn't need any help. Daryl needed all the help he could get for Christ's sake! He was so goddamn awkward and he'd actually been able to talk to her, as himself, there the other day. He couldn't let Rick fuck that up. Besides, Daryl had seen her first, damn it. She'd ran him over before she started talking to Rick.

He paused next to Rick's car, glancing around one more time and then reaching for the passenger door. It didn't surprise him that it was unlocked. Rick was the Sheriff and everyone around here knew and respected him. Not many people locked their doors. With a guilty sigh he opened the package he'd retrieved from his tackle box and emptied the contents under the passenger seat.

He bumped the door with his hip to close it and then wiped the handle off, knowing he was being paranoid but unable to help it. He didn't want to risk Rick getting pissed off enough to try to look for prints.

~H~

Carol wasn't much of drinker for the most part but a glass of wine wouldn't hurt. She had been surprised when Rick suggested they go somewhere nicer for dinner but she didn't mind. Daryl had vouched for him, even though that really shouldn't have counted for much. She barely knew Daryl at all, but it didn't feel that way.

As a matter of fact, he was all she could think about for the rest of the week. Well, that wasn't really true. She thought about him and she thought about Darrin. She was enamored with Daryl's looks but it was Darrin's personality that she loved. He didn't even have a photo so she had no idea what he looked like, and she had decided after talking to him those first few times, that it wouldn't matter. She liked his heart and his looks didn't mean anything at all.

She suspected that he may not have been the most handsome man, since there wasn't a photo of him.

"You look like you're thinking entirely too hard about something," Rick said with an easy smile.

She felt guilty for thinking about not just one but two other men while she was sitting here with this one. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm just a little hungry. Where were you wanting to go?"

He finished the last of his beer quickly and then stood up, offering her his hand. She took it with a smile but wondered briefly how different Daryl's hand would have felt. She suspected that they would be much rougher than Rick's. Rick had a very difficult job, but that job didn't involve him doing manual labor with his hands. "I was thinking that Italian place that just opened up. I heard it's really good."

"I've heard the same thing. Really, Rick, we don't have to go anywhere like that. I heard it's good but I also heard it's pricey and since you're insisting on paying for everything, I feel a little guilty."

He shook his head and led her through the crowd. "Next time it can be your treat," he said over his shoulder.

She frowned when he turned back around. She wasn't sure how to tell him that maybe there shouldn't be a next time. She wasn't looking for anything serious but taking her out to an expensive restaurant wasn't exactly just a casual get together between new friends. She wouldn't say anything just yet. She wasn't even sure how she would say anything. She wasn't used to this. She thought that Rick would make a great friend, but nothing else. Not when she obviously couldn't stop thinking about two other men.

He opened her car door for her and she sat down with a smile, appreciating the gesture even though it was unnecessary. When she sat down the smile dissolved and she made a face before she covered her nose with her hand and tried to breath through her mouth.

Rick got in and then looked over at her sharply, his own face scrunching up in disgust.

Carol had never smelled anything so horrible in her life. The heat in the car only seemed to make it worse. It was a strange cloying meaty smell that also somehow had an undercurrent of a very old very used unwashed jock strap.

"What the hell!" Rick cursed as he turned in his seat, scanning the floorboards in the back. "I swear, I don't know what the hell-"

Carol couldn't. She simply could not sit there with that odor wafting around her. She was breathing through her mouth but she was sure that now, she could taste the smell somehow. She gagged and then slammed the door shut, breathing in deeply of the fresh night air. It didn't help. That smell was burned into her nasal cavity. She spit on the ground because she was sure that she could still taste it.

"Carol, I'm so sorry. I don't know what that could be. It sure as hell didn't smell like that when I got here. Something..."

She tried to tell him it was okay, that they could take her car, but she gagged again. Her stomach rolled with nausea.

Rick cursed again and Carol was horrified that she was going to throw up right there in front of him. She braced her hand on the hood of the car and breathed through the sick feeling until she could no longer detect the smell. Her stomach still rolled but she was no longer in danger of being sick right there in the parking lot.

She looked up sheepishly at Rick's red face. He looked completely mortified. "I'm sorry, Rick. Whatever that is, it's ruined my appetite."

He nodded, grimacing. "Mine too, actually. We could go back in if you'd like? Have another drink?"

She studied his face and realized that he really wasn't feeling the night anymore either. She smiled. "How about we just make plans for some other day?"

He sighed, shaking his head. "Well, this turned out horribly. I'm sorry about-"

"Don't be sorry," she laughed. "It was nice to get to talk to you for a little while. Besides, you really need to get this looked at if you're taking someone else out tomorrow night."

He chuckled. "You're right. Rain check then?"

She nodded. "Definitely. Thank you for the wine."

She walked to her car, digging her keys out of her purse. She grinned, a little excited to get home and tell Darrin how horrible the night had gone. He would get a real laugh out of that, she was sure. Then tomorrow she could tell Daryl about it. Maybe he would know what kind of smelly secrets Rick kept in his car.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

"Why the hell have you been spendin' so much time in your room?" Merle asked when Daryl finally came down.

He shrugged, yawning loudly as he rummaged through the fridge.

"If you been in there pullin' your pork for that many hours at a time the skin should be rubbed off by now."

Daryl scowled. "You're a nasty bastard, Merle." He turned around, bottle of orange juice in hand, his eyes feeling grainy. He had stayed up till damn near dawn talking to Carol after she got back from her ill fated date last night. He'd only slept for a few hours.

"Nasty maybe, but I'm honest. You don't wanna rub it raw. That shit hurts. Speaking of, I need you to make yourself scarce tomorrow afternoon."

He met Merle's eyes. "Planned on doin' some huntin' anyhow. Why the hell you need me gone?"

Merle grinned. "Got myself a woman comin' over for lunch."

Daryl shrugged. "I don't see what the hell that has to do with me."

Merle chuckled and the sound had Daryl grimacing. "This is a special case. This woman is different from most I fool with and I can't seal the deal with your simple ass hangin' around."

Daryl looked up sharply. He'd been around plenty of Merle's women before. "What's her name?" He asked, trying to keep his voice level.

"Carol. She's fuckin' hot too. All sophisticated and shit. I'm gonna throw on the charm and work my way into her pants. You know, I ain't never been with a woman like that before. I bet she turns out to be a freak in the sheets."

Daryl wanted to throw his orange juice right at Merle's head. "Why the hell would you want anything to do with a woman like that? And why the hell should she put out to a goddamn walkin' infection like yourself?"

Merle placed his hand over his heart and gave Daryl a look. "You wound me, Brother. You know damn good and well that those antibiotics cleared that shit right up."

Daryl had watched from the shadows of his truck as he successfully ruined Rick's date with Carol the night before. He wasn't above doing the same thing to his brother. Of course, he couldn't very well plant stink bait all over his own home so that was out, but Merle wasn't getting anywhere near the woman's pants. This was the whole reason he had started talking to her in the first place.

He was going to see her tonight. Maybe if he kept her up late... He shook his head. No! Jesus, why the hell would he even flirt with a thought like that?

He went to his room on the off chance that maybe he'd catch her online. They usually talked at night but he wanted to talk to her now. He checked and then his brows shot up when he saw that she was there and that she had actually messaged him.

 _This place is totally dead. I wish you could stop by so we could talk in person!_

He sighed heavily. _Me too._

 _Well, at least I won't be very bored tonight. I'm meeting a friend. I hope I get back in time to catch you on here. I'm so used to talking to you at night that it will be strange to miss our chat._

Daryl's brows pulled together in a frown. Damn. She wanted to get home in time to talk to him, when actually she would be at a bar talking to him.

 _I hope so too._ He typed, almost sadly. She'd rather talk to this guy than spend time with _him_. Even though he _was_ this guy. Hell, he was more _this_ guy than he was the guy meeting her in person tonight. Goddamn this shit was confusing... He was in way over his head now.

~H~

Carol stared at her reflection. Andrea was a great friend and always had been but she was having second thoughts about letting the woman pick out her clothes. When she had called her and asked Andrea for help the woman had made it to her apartment in record time.

Instead of digging through Carol's closet to find an outfit she had came bearing a bag with clothes she was wanting Carol to put on immediately, and she had obliged, because this wasn't a best friend role that Andrea got to play very often... Well, very often was an understatement. In all the years of their friendship, Carol had never asked the woman for a favor of this magnitude.

"He'll die," Andrea beamed.

Carol looked down, trying to adjust the shirt that was clinging to her chest. This was a bad idea. She looked back up, meeting Andrea's eyes. "This was a bad idea," she voiced out loud.

Andrea swept her gaze over her and shook her head. "It's the best idea you've ever had. It looks great and as soon as he sees you all of the blood will rush from his head to his pants and then he'll die."

"You're absurd. And I don't even know if I'm interested in him like that. He stopped by and we hung out and he was really nice but..." She shook her head, her eyes going to the hallway and her office beyond.

"But what?"

Carol shrugged, knowing that she would sound ridiculous but also knowing that Andrea wasn't going to let it go. "But I don't know about him. I mean, he seems kind of closed off. I wish that Darrin would mention meeting up somewhere. I've never met another man that I feel so comfortable with and I know that it's only an online friendship but I feel like I've known him my whole life. He's so easy to talk to."

Andrea sighed. "So what you're telling me is, your physically attracted to flu boy and you're emotionally attracted to homely man?"

Carol scowled. "I don't know if he's homely."

Andrea raised a brow. "Even if he isn't homely, he isn't going to look like the guy I saw in the parking lot last week. I guess you need to figure out what's more important at the moment. Building a meaningful relationship with someone you have an online connection with, or letting flu boy pin you to the wall and give it to you like you've never had it before."

Carol gaped at her. "For one, even if Darrin was hideous, which I doubt he is, it wouldn't really matter! I like him!"

"And Daryl?"

Carol huffed and sat down on the couch, smoothing her skirt down. "I like him but I don't feel like I will ever get to know him. He's shy. You should have seen us the other day talking about my pie. I thought I was gonna have a damn heart attack I was so embarrassed."

"It's because he's right there in person and this other guy isn't. It isn't as easy talking to someone when you're face to face. Now, you look amazing, I'm leaving and you're meeting this man at a bar. I want details about it all later."

Carol waved her away. "Thank you for the clothes."

Andrea winked. "He can thank me for the clothes."

Once the door was closed Carol sighed heavily and looked at the clock. This wasn't really a date. All he had told her was that he'd be at the bar if she wanted to hang out with him there. That didn't mean that he'd even remember telling her that. She could be going through all this trouble for nothing.

Besides, other than a few laughs at the bakery he was basically a stranger to her. She wasn't able to get very much information out of him. The physical attraction was intense but it wasn't going to go anywhere. Not really. Not when she had actually started having feelings for someone else. And that was ridiculous in itself. Having feelings for a man she had never met.

With a heavy sigh she guiltily checked her messages before she headed out of her apartment to see if the night would be more entertaining than the one before it had been. Darrin hadn't messaged her since that afternoon and she felt a heavy disappointment settle in her chest.

She didn't dwell on it though. She was sure he would be around later and he knew she wasn't going to be around because she was meeting up with a friend.

A friend?

She didn't even know the man! Maybe it would have been smarter to just stay in tonight. Her previously uncomplicated life was quickly becoming complicated and it was odd. Then again, she was kind of blowing things out of proportion. She shook off the anxiety, knowing that it was only there because before now, she really hadn't had much of a social life, and it was just strange.

She told herself that during the drive to the bar. When she parked she checked her reflection, decided that she would never ever let Andrea pick out her clothes again, and then took a deep steadying breath.

The place was as crowded as it had been the night before. She cursed herself for not checking to see if his truck was parked outside because she was thinking it was going to be next to impossible to find him in the place. She headed towards the bar, thinking that she'd start there first and if she didn't see him then she would just take a seat and wait. Surely he would find her eventually.

Before she made it to the bar stool she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned, not expecting him to spot her so fast. Her eyes met his and that strange electric charge slid up her spine. She smiled. "Have you been here long?"

He shook his head and then glanced around the room. "Just got here. Usually ain't so damn crowded in here." When his eyes came back to her they swept over her quickly, lingering for a moment on the low cut of the shirt Andrea had talked her into wearing. He nodded towards a couple of empty stools. He wasn't like Rick. He trusted that she would follow him without taking her hand, which was a little disappointing.

Last night she had found herself wondering how different it would feel. She shook the thought and sat down, her eyes scanning the room.

"You ain't gotta stick around if the place is too crowded," he said, leaning closer so she could hear him speak.

She opened her mouth the say something but then the bartender slid two beers in front of them. She wasn't about to leave. She wanted to get to know the man and she couldn't do that if she didn't spend any time with him. "Is it too crowded for you?" She asked, taking a sip of the beer. It was bitter and she made a face.

He glanced around. "I don't know. Any other time if it was this packed I'd have just left."

She sighed. She didn't want him staying here and being uncomfortable just for her, even though it was sweet. "Well, what else can we do?"

He sighed. "I don't know. Go back home and meet up on a week night?"

She smiled. "Not a fan of crowds?"

He shook his head. "Not really."

"We can pick up a sixer and a deck of cards and go to my place." Did she really just suggest for him to come to her place? The question had slipped from her lips before she actually thought about it. Now he probably thought she was some kind of loose floozy!

He eyed her and then finished off the beer. "Sounds good."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

She seemed just as surprised at his agreement to go as he had been when she had suggested it. He knew that she honestly wanted to just hang out but it was growing increasingly difficult to focus on anything as innocent as that. He wasn't used to this at all. It wasn't just a physical attraction. It was also the fact that he knew everything about her and knew that she was basically fucking great in every aspect. He thought she was the greatest fucking person he'd ever met, the easiest person in the world to talk to, never judging him for anything. He'd told her things about himself he had never told another living soul and it had been easy and felt good. She didn't judge him. She didn't look down on him and she looked forward to talking to him every day.

But she didn't fucking know it was him!

As soon as they stepped out onto the sidewalk thunder rumbled above them and a flash of lightning threaded through the sky. "Shit," he muttered.

She looked up at him and grinned. "Scared of storms?"

He snorted. "No but last thing I want is to get caught in the rain."

"My car or yours?" She asked.

He looked out over the parking lot towards his truck. "How about I meet you over there? I don't wanna just leave my truck."

"Sounds good," she smiled and then walked off towards her car.

His eyes followed the swing of her ass. She'd paired the clingy shirt with another long flowey skirt but it didn't matter at all how covered she was from the waist down because suddenly he remembered a flash of red lace and he turned his head, stalking off towards his truck. He should just come clean to her. If he was honest about everything then she really couldn't fault him for it. He hadn't meant for it to go on as long as it had but now he felt like if he opened his stupid mouth then she'd end up thinking he was some sort of freak. And in reality, that was exactly what he was.

He followed her and before they were halfway there more lightning split the sky and the rain came down so hard that he could hardly make out her tail lights. He pulled up next to her once they finally made it to her place. He waited for half a minute but the rain didn't look like it was willing to slow down so he finally just jumped out, waiting on her to do the same. The wind whipped around him, driving rain into his face and causing him to have to squint.

She got out of her car and then grinned at him through the deluge and then took off for the stairs at the side of the building. He followed her up, his clothes completely saturated now, and waited while she fiddled with her keys. She dropped them once, cursed loudly but finally the door was opened and she was tugging him into her apartment.

"What the hell?" She muttered, once the door was closed against the howling wind.

He stood there, still and silent, in the dark.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me!" She hissed and then he could hear the telltale flick of a light switch turning on and off. "The damn power is out!"

He ran a hand through his wet hair and sighed. "Guess I should get goin' then. It likely seems weird for you to hang around in the dark with somebody you don't even really know."

Suddenly she grabbed his hand. "No!" She said loudly. "I mean..."

He remembered then. She had told him online that she hated storms. "Scared?" He asked.

She laughed, her voice sounding breathless. "Usually when I know that there's a storm coming I go to my friends but I wasn't really paying attention to any weather announcements today. I know, it sounds stupid but-"

"Not too stupid. Who the hell wants to sit around in the dark by themselves anyway?" He asked, trying to reassure her that he understood. He wasn't afraid of storms but he wouldn't ever mock her for something like that.

"Right," she said, sounding relieved. She hadn't dropped his hand yet and suddenly she was leading him further into her apartment. "I have candles." She stopped and dropped his hand. "I'll be right back. Don't leave."

He stood there, his eyes going towards the squares of lighter blackness that were the windows. He couldn't really see anything at all. He was surprised she would want him to stick around, even if she was afraid of storms, shouldn't she be more afraid of having a strange man in her house? In the dark?

She reappeared with a fat candle between her hands and he was able to make out the living room he was standing in. She smiled at him and then sat the candle on the coffee table. Her smile dropped when she looked him over. "My God, you're soaked."

He looked down and nodded, peeling the wet shirt away from his skin. "Looks that way." He noticed that she'd changed into a pair of cotton shorts and a t-shirt.

"I don't think I have anything you could wear. Even my regular old t-shirts would be too small."

He shrugged.

"Well, sit down at least. I can't force you to stay here and then make you stand up all night."

He eyed the couch. "I'm soaked."

She sat down and grinned. "We've established that. It's leather so I can wipe it right off."

He sat down, his eyes studying the flame instead of meeting hers. Now that they were here with the storm raging outside and the silence of the house seeming to close around him he realized what a bad idea this was. He already had some sort of sick infatuation with the woman and now he was sitting on her couch with her not even a foot away and the only thing he could think to do were things that she probably wouldn't appreciate him thinking about.

"Damn it," she muttered.

He finally looked at her.

"I forgot to stop for beer. I think I might have some cards around here somewhere though. I can look if you want."

"It'd be somethin' to do to kill time anyway," he said, unable to keep the nervousness out of his voice.

She paused in the process of getting up. "Why on earth are you so shy?"

He blinked. "Huh?"

She gestured at him with her hand. "You're shy. It's painfully obvious that you're shy and I can't for the life of me figure out why you would be." She settled back down on the couch.

He chewed his thumb nail and shrugged lightly. "I ain't shy."

She grinned. "Yes you are. Any other man would have at least thought to take his shirt off by now. You're sopping wet. But not you. You'd sit there uncomfortable and it's because you're shy."

He snorted and shook his head. "You wouldn't mind if some strange man started takin' off his clothes as soon as he walks into your house? Maybe I just have manners." Did she want him to take his fucking shirt off? Because he wasn't apposed to the idea at all.

She laughed, shaking her head. "Well now you're making it sound like that's what I wanted you to do."

He raised an eyebrow at her and he could tell from the dim light of the candle that her face was red.

She sighed. "All I'm saying is that if you'd be more comfortable, you can take off your shirt and when the power comes back on I can dry it for you. There isn't anything I can do for your pants but..."

He sat up, whipped the shirt over his head and held it out to her. He wasn't the type to strip down and show off his goods for people but if she wanted him out of his shirt then fuck it. He'd get out of it.

~H~

He held the shirt out to her but she was too busy staring at him to take it. His shoulders were broad, his arms defined. He had a hard body but not too much bulk. It was obvious that he worked hard for a living. When she was finally able to pull her eyes away from him she grabbed the shirt, embarrassed because he was watching her stare at him like he was a piece of meat.

"I'll just go throw this in the dryer," she said in a rush and then damn near bolted out of the room. She felt flushed all over and it took her a second to realize why. She _wanted_ that man! She hadn't really put much thought into anything like that in a long time. She was too busy for it. It hadn't been easy for her, dealing with the death of her husband and then starting a business from scratch. But she remembered that telltale heat down low and damn if she didn't feel that now. She had been attracted to him from the start but this was more than that. This was lust, pure and simple, and that wasn't a feeling she was used to.

"Stupid. You don't even know him," she muttered out loud. But that hadn't kept her from meeting him at a bar tonight and sure as hell hadn't kept her from inviting him up to her house alone and it hadn't stopped her from telling him to take off his shirt.

She made her way back to the living room, willing her pulse to slow down and hoping that she was able to play it cool while sitting next to him with his shirt off. She'd never felt this distracted, this turned on, in all her life.

"So," she said as she breezed into the room. "What do you usually find yourself doing on a Saturday night? I mean, when you aren't stuck entertaining women that don't like sitting alone in the dark?"

He was still gnawing on his thumb but he eyed her. "Nothin', really."

"Do you hang out with Rick very often?" she asked, needing to know more about him.

He shook his head. "Just at the bar. We go fishin' every now and then."

She made a face. "The strangest thing happened last night. We met at the bar and he was wanting to go out to dinner. When we got in his car, it... stunk. I mean, I've never smelled anything like this. He seemed embarrassed but that smell was too strong to haven't been there for a while."

She watched as he averted her eyes but then he grinned. He didn't smile very often and she found herself speechless.

"Sounds like Rick has a personal hygiene problem. I've never noticed that before."

She wrinkled her nose. "He didn't smell bad, but the car. I actually had to get out. I gagged."

Now he laughed. "Sounds more and more like bein' stuck with me ain't the worst thing that could have happened to you in the last few days."

She laughed with him, shaking her head. "I actually felt bad for him, really. He seemed so embarrassed."

"Can't say I blame him. I've never made a woman actually gag before." He paused and then his eyes went a little wider, like he just replayed the words in his head.

She couldn't help it. She tried hard but that stricken look on his face undone her. She laughed. He was so embarrassed and it actually served him right. She didn't know why it should strike her as so hilarious but it did. It was mostly the fact that most men wouldn't have been so embarrassed about the slip up but he seemed like he was ready to bolt now. She wiped her eyes as he sat there scowling at her. "Oh come on, you walked right into that one."

"That ain't what I meant and you know it," he grumbled.

She giggled. "So you _have_ made women gag then, huh?"

His face was so red. "Never on purpose anyway and never cause I stunk," he shot back.

This sent her into another fit of laughter, since he looked so offended. This night was already much better than last night, despite the storm and the power outage, or maybe because of it.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

The words were out of his mouth before he was able to really think about what he was saying. He sighed heavily. "You know, if I knew you were such a mean woman, I'd have never agreed to waitin' out a storm up here. You're an asshole."

"I'm sorry," she said trying to school her face but it didn't work out very well. She stopped laughing but she was still grinning. "You're adorable."

He shook his head and shifted so he was leaned against the corner of the couch. She was sitting on the edge, closer than she needed to be, which he took as a good sign. He should have felt weird as fuck talking about something so damn dirty but damn if she hadn't been the one to start it. And unfortunately now it was growing increasingly hard to not stare at her mouth.

She sighed, shaking her head, her eyes leaving his and trailing down until she tilted her head slightly, studying something. He felt a strange jolt when her hand suddenly shot out and the tip of her finger ran over the letters of the tattoo on his chest.

He glanced down, taking note of how her nail felt dragging across his skin. "Who's Norman?" She asked, her voice quieter now and devoid of humor.

"My granddad," he said, looking back up. "Got it after he passed. I was about..." Fuck. He had already told her this story. Not of the tattoo but about how his grandfather had passed away when he was seventeen.

"You were close," she said. It was a statement, not a question.

He nodded. "Yeah."

She looked up, that glint back in her eyes. "I have one. I got it when I was eighteen."

He raised a brow. "You don't look the type."

She snorted. "And what type is that? Do I look that boring?"

He nodded sagely and her eyes narrowed on him.

"I'll have you know that I was a total rebel."

He shook his head. "I can't see you bein' a rebel."

She stood up then, hands on her hips. She was wearing an oversized t-shirt and suddenly she was lifting the shirt until he was rewarded with a glimpse of pale skin. She stopped just bellow her belly button but then she hooked her thumb through the waistband of her shorts and pulled those down until he was looking at a faded daisy flower the size of a silver dollar with a peace sign in the middle right next to her hipbone.

His brows shot up and he laughed. This was the second time that had happened tonight and it was usually a rare occurrence. "You had a hippie streak, huh?"

She looked down, running her finger over the ink with a grin before nodding. "I still do."

Before he lost his nerve his hand went to her hip and he ran his thumb over the small tattoo. She seemed to tense and he was about to drop his hand but instead he looked up, meeting her eyes. Her pupils were wide and she licked her lips quickly, just a flash of her tongue had his grip on her tightening slightly and then his other hand came up, grabbing her other hip and then he dragged her forward. He didn't let himself think about what he was doing because he would have lost his nerve.

A small gasp was the only sound she made before she was straddling him on the couch. His hands stilled after moving into her shirt, his fingers grazing over the softest fucking skin he'd ever had the privilege to touch in his life. He hadn't wanted her to meet him at the bar so he could mess around with her. He also hadn't come here with her in the hopes that he'd get to do something. None of that had been his intentions but the mood she had set when he'd made the blunder about gagging women had been underscored with sexual tension.

And now she was staring at him, waiting him out but he wasn't doing anything. He grudgingly remembered how wrong it would be to do something like this with her, even if it didn't get very far, since their tentative friendship was based on a lie.

He could feel a slight tremble in her hands when they landed on his chest. Her eyes were wide and questioning but that quick tongue made its appearance again and he found himself unable to resist drawing her face down to his.

When their lips met he wasn't really surprised that there was hesitancy there with both of them despite the thrill that shot through him. She'd felt it too because a small sound of pleasure left her lip. The kiss was sweet, almost chaste, considering she was on his lap. That lasted all of ten seconds because he couldn't refrain from tracing her bottom lip with his tongue. And that, friends and neighbors, had been the right move. Her hands gripped his shoulders hard, her lips parted and Daryl took control unlike he ever had before. Because he'd never fucking wanted something as bad as he wanted this woman.

His hands slid around to her ass, hauling her further against him and the evidence of his intense need was trapped right there between her thighs.

It wasn't suppose to be like this and he knew it. He kept telling himself that but his judgment was clouded and he quickly made up excuses for his actions. The main one being, she wanted it. And she did. She was nearly panting into his mouth and when he finally tore his lips away from hers he couldn't resist going straight for her throat, biting lightly and eliciting a moan from her. Her fingers tangled into his hair and her hips rolled into him, bearing down, searching for that friction.

His hands slid up the back of her shirt, seeking more skin, wishing she'd just take the godforsaken thing off, and that's when it happened. The lights suddenly came on, breaking whatever spell she had fallen under.

She braced her hands on his chest and broke another heated kiss. She was breathing heavily, but she shook her head quickly, stopping his hands with just that move. He froze.

"I can't do this," she whispered in a breathless voice.

He nodded. "Okay." He knew that they shouldn't but damn if he wasn't all in.

She shook her head. "It isn't that I don't want to. It's just..."

He realized then what her hang up was and if he could have he would have kicked himself in the ass. "Somebody else?"

She sighed. "I don't know. I like you. I mean, I really like you and physically, you're about everything a woman could possibly ask for, but I don't know you that well and there's someone else that I do know well and I feel like... Well, I feel like if I let myself do this then it could ruin whatever chances I have of having something real with someone that I connect with... more than just physically."

"Is it somebody I know?" He asked, dreading her answer because he had a feeling it was someone he knew, all right.

She shook her head and then slid off of him. "No. It's that other man I mentioned. His name is Darrin and..."

He sighed, swiping his hand over his face. God, what the fuck had he done?

"I've not met him yet. Not in person and I know how stupid that probably sounds to you, but that doesn't matter to me."

"What if this guy ain't who you think he is?" He asked.

She blew out a breath. "I talk to him so much. He knows about my whole life. About my horrible marriage and... I know his too. Things he probably hasn't ever shared with anyone else, things I'm not going to discuss with you because it wouldn't be right. I know you don't understand but-"

"I do. I get it." And he did. He did because he was the fucking moron that had faked an account just to talk to her and ended up royally blowing it. If he stopped talking to her as this Darrin guy then it would break her heart since she felt so fucking close to him, but if he stopped talking to her as himself and only used that stupid account then eventually she would want to meet him even more than she already did and that would be fucking horrible. Besides, he couldn't be in a relationship with a woman he had to lie to. She knew everything about him but she thought that she knew everything about Darrin. She thought Daryl was just some fucking guy that ended up at her house to have a little fun.

Fuck. He had no idea how to fix any of this and he desperately wanted to. It wasn't just about making out with her. He knew everything about her and he wanted to know more. He _liked_ her.

And he knew that he was going to have to come clean eventually, but how the hell was he suppose to do that? She wouldn't want anything to do with him then.

It had all started out with him trying to be a decent guy and it turned out he had turned into a bigger piece of shit than his brother.

"I'm sure you probably want to leave now. The lights are back on and the storm seems to have passed for the most part," she said, wringing her hands in her lap and looking away.

"Can I have my shirt back?" He asked, forcing himself to keep his eyes on hers.

She laughed nervously and stood up. "I'll turn the dryer on. You'll be stuck with me for another fifteen minutes or so but it shouldn't take much longer than that to dry just one shirt."

"I don't mind waitin'," he said, wanting her to know that he didn't come up here in the hopes of sleeping with her. Even though he had been more than willing to do just that, no matter how wrong it was.

She looked relieved. "Are you sure?"

He nodded. "Believe it or not, I didn't come up here thinkin' I had a chance to... You know."

She nodded. "I didn't think that." She took off down the hallway and he leaned back against the couch, wishing he had gone about all of this differently. At least he wouldn't have to worry about her messing around with anybody else. Hell, the woman was staying loyal to a man that she didn't even know. That was a rare thing to find in a person. She'd admitted that physically, she was more than happy to share her body, but her heart wouldn't be in it and he respected that.

But could she feel for him what she felt for the person she thought was someone else online? If she came back and he laid it all out there for her, what would she say? She'd be pissed, he knew that. She'd throw him out, he knew that too, and she'd be miserable.

"If you want we can watch a movie or something while you wait," she said, breezing back into the room. She avoided looking at him. She went straight to the television, busying herself with that task.

"If it's any good are you gonna let me finish it?" He asked, not ready to call it a total loss. He wanted to spend time with her regardless of what they were doing.

Her smile softened. "You really want to just hang out?"

He nodded, suddenly feeling like he was out of his element again.

"That sounds great," she said, sitting down on the other side of the couch.


	12. Chapter 12

**Sorry if this is loaded down with typos. I didn't have time to go over it very well because I have family from out of town over and I'm sneaking this update in while they're distracted. I'm glad so many of you like this goofy thing. I think I have the most consistent group of readers out there. You guys are awesome. It is finally time for Daryl to sabotage his brother so hopefully that's somewhat satisfying, even if it is a trick that has been done a thousand times lol. You'll see. Anyway, I have to take off and be socially awkward. Thanks for reading ;)**

 **Oh, and someone asked how many chapters this story had and I hate to say it but we're past the halfway mark already. This one is only 19 chapters.**

 **Chapter Twelve**

Daryl didn't sleep very well that night. He had stayed at Carol's and watched the movie but he had no idea what it had even been about. The tension was thick and it made things awkward. He had been uncomfortable and usually when he was uncomfortable he either shut down or lashed out. Last night he had grown quiet and he could tell that she wished the movie would end so he could leave.

She hadn't said that, of course, because she was too nice to be that goddamn rude to someone that she had invited over but he could tell.

He wasn't worried about her falling for any of Merle's shit because he knew she wouldn't, but he still had something up his sleeve for his trouble making brother. Daryl knew that it hadn't been Merle's fault that he had dug himself into this depressing hole but Merle had been the one that got the ball rolling. Now today Daryl was going to partake in a little revenge. If it wasn't for Merle trying to trap some poor unsuspecting woman in the first place then Daryl wouldn't have ever known anything about her and he wouldn't be so fucking miserable about it right now.

"What the hell do you look so pissy about?" Merle asked, dressed in a decent button down shirt and his best black jeans. The sleeves were rolled up but at least they were intact. Daryl didn't think he owned a damn shirt left that had sleeves at all.

He grunted in response and walked past him, heading for the coffee pot even though he had slept in a few more hours than usual. Merle drank coffee constantly so he knew there would be some in the kitchen.

"Don't forget that I need your ass out of here before noon," Merle called over his shoulder, his heavy footfalls sounding on the stairs.

"Fuck off," Daryl grumbled, glancing at the doorway to make sure Merle was gone. He grinned, taking the small bottle from his pocket and dumping the contents into the remainder of the coffee in the pot. He swirled it around for a second and then sat it back down when he heard Merle coming. He grabbed juice out of the fridge.

"No coffee? Figured you would need it since you stayed out so late last night. Where the hell were you anyway?"

"Bar," he said, watching as Merle poured himself more of the now tainted liquid.

"Now, I'd believe that but I got a call from a buddy and they said they saw he meet some woman and left with her pretty damn early. You finally get laid?" Merle eyed him and then shook his head. "Course not, or you wouldn't be in such a bad mood. Unless you didn't put it to her right and she kicked you out. Goddamn, little brother, I've given you advice over and over. By now you should have this fuckin' thing down to an art."

"Drink your goddamn coffee and shut up, Merle. Whatever the hell I was doin' ain't a damn bit of your business," he grumbled darkly.

Merle grinned and held up the cup. "You botched it and I know it."

Daryl wouldn't be able to feel bad for what he did to his brother now, even if he wanted to. Merle was the biggest jackass he'd ever met in his life and he was getting what was coming to him. "I'm gonna hit the lake. What time you think this little date of yours is gonna be over?"

Merle shrugged. "Drive by and if you see a strange car out front, just keep on drivin'."

Daryl got ready quickly and left out without a word, locking the downstairs bathroom door from the inside on his way out.

He didn't want to think about the kind of bullshit game that Merle was gonna throw at Carol. He had been tempted to get online last night to see what she had to say about what had happened, or if she would even mention it to the man she thought was Darrin Smith. Honestly, he couldn't get it out of his head.

Whatever that was, it had been more than just him lusting after a woman. It was more than him wanting that physical release. He didn't know what it was exactly, but it was something very big and very terrifying. So, as he drove towards the lake, he hoped with all his might that as soon as Merle put the moves on her, he shit his pants.

~H~

Carol checked her messages one more time but other than a message from Merle she didn't have anything new from anyone that she cared to talk to. There was another from Rick, wishing her a good day which she replied to quickly, but there was nothing from Darrin and it worried her.

One of the reasons it worried her was because she was completely conflicted. She liked the man a lot but why hadn't he asked to meet in person? And when she had told him about meeting up with Rick and having plans with Merle today, she had been hoping that it would open up the door for him to finally ask if the two of them could meet. But he hadn't said a word about meeting her.

What if Andrea was right? What if Darrin wasn't who he said he was? He could be anyone. But Daryl, well, he was quick to meet her in person. He was also quick to come to her house and he hadn't minded in the least that she ended up in his lap. And Jesus, the mouth on that man. He was an extremely dirty kisser. Not sloppy... _dirty_. Sinful. It was like he needed to demonstrate that kissing wasn't the only thing that he could use that tongue for.

She felt heat rush through her and she tightened her grip on the steering wheel, remembering the way his wide hands had felt against her skin, work roughened and strong. And that wasn't all she had gotten to feel while straddling him right there on her couch. She swallowed thickly, biting down on her lip at the memory of the feel of his obvious erection pressing against her. She was impressed with every physical aspect of that man but she felt a strange distance there. Almost like he wasn't exactly who he said _he_ was.

It was that feeling, and the guilt, that had caused her to stop things the night before. She wanted him but she wasn't willing to let herself be used by someone that she felt like she would never really get to know. Her undeniable attraction aside, mystery was only a plus if you were in your twenties. She was too old for games and she refused to play them.

She pulled up at the house Merle had given her directions to. If she hadn't been driving from Andrea's then she would have easily been able to walk from her own house and be there in less than four minutes. They were practically neighbors.

She remembered then that Daryl lived somewhere close too but she had forgotten to ask him where. This was an older neighborhood and the houses were fewer and farther apart. Merle's house was older but well maintained. It wasn't anything flashy but she liked it. She liked the deep front porch and the ancient trees that stood sentinel on either side of the walkway, casting a welcoming shade over the property.

She raised her hand to knock, swallowing down her nervousness, convincing herself that Merle wasn't a rapist, when the door opened up.

The man openly gave her a once over and then grinned. The smile was predatory but quickly softened. She wondered if she had misjudged the smile. "Find your way alright?" He asked, the voice matching the man.

She smiled back and nodded. "It was easy. We're practically neighbors."

He held the door open and motioned for her to come inside. She had to duck under his arm and she had the distinct feeling that he was checking out her ass. This was probably going to be a huge waste of time. Instead of voicing this, however, she took in the space.

It was obvious he was a bachelor just because of the décor, but the place was clean. She didn't spot any family photos or anything but she didn't comment on it. Instead she turned to face him and his eyes quickly shot up to hers, telling her that he had indeed been staring at her ass.

"So, are you sure your brother is okay, being out for the day and all?" She asked, doubting he had a brother at all.

Merle nodded. "Oh yeah. He gets out like this every once in a while. The poor kid," Merle shook his head sadly. "Anyway, you hungry?"

She nodded, even though she wasn't very hungry at all. She followed him through a dining room that didn't look like it got a lot of use, and into the kitchen. There were boxes of Chinese take out on the table.

"I ordered in. It ain't often I get the house to myself like this so I thought that would be okay," he said and he actually looked hopeful.

"This is fine," she said. "I figured you would want to go out since you mentioned you also don't get out a lot because of your brother." She hadn't meant to but the suspicion in her voice was obvious.

He sighed and took the seat across from her, meeting her eyes squarely. "Look, Carol. I'll be completely honest with you, okay?"

She nodded, taking note of the sincerity in his voice.

"I ain't ever even touched a damn computer until about a month or so ago, alright? I don't know how all this shit works. It's been a long time since I've bothered with the datin' scene and I know that I'm flounderin' somethin' awful here, but all I wanna do is get to know you. Maybe we can spend more time together if I can convince you that I ain't some psycho, okay?"

She felt the corner of her mouth come up. He seemed genuine and she felt bad for instantly thinking the worst of him. "Honestly, I don't really know what I'm doing either. I haven't dated in a long time, not since my husband and he's been dead ten years if that tells you anything. I've been on a few dates and they both ended sort of badly so I'm all nerves here."

Merle chuckled and handed over a plate. "Well, that's what we get for steppin' into the world of cyber datin'."

"Actually last night I was with a man I actually met in person. No internet date there."

Merle's brow went up at that. "And you said it didn't end too good?"

She felt her face grow warm and then his eyes grew knowing. "It wasn't like that," she said quickly.

He held out his hands. "Hey, I'm not here to judge. Just here for the company."

She gave him a dry look but he grinned in returned. This wasn't so bad. He seemed kind of easy to talk to. "So you want to hear about my ill fated dates?"

He nodded and started eating so she joined him.

She picked at her rice and sighed. "Well, Friday night I met a man named Rick that I met online. We were suppose to have a few drinks but he ended up wanting to go out to dinner."

His brows went up again and he swallowed. "Rick Grimes?"

She nodded. "Yes, you know him?"

"Yeah, we've met a time or two. So, what happened?"

She made a face at the memory of that horrible smell in his car. "Well, I got in his car and it... My God, it smelled so bad. I mean, it was the worst smell I have ever smelled in my life. It was unreal."

Merle laughed then and she joined him. "Well damn, woman. What happened after that?"

She shrugged. "Nothing. I lost my appetite and he was so embarrassed I could tell that he just wanted to call it a night, so we did."

He chuckled and then they ate in silence for a few minutes but it wasn't strained.

"What do you do for a living, Merle? I don't remember ever asking."

"Mason," he said quickly.

Her brows pulled together at that. "My God, is there a man in this town that doesn't work with brick?"

"Huh?"

She chewed thoughtfully. "The man I went out with last night is a mason too and another man that I talk to a lot online. I mean, I know that it isn't unheard of but three out of the four men I've spoken to being in the same profession is a little odd."

"I agree."

"Daryl, he's the one I went out with last night. It went much better than the date with Rick but when we got back to my house things got a little... well, they got out of hand and I had to put an end to the date."

She looked up sharply when Merle started choking. His eyes were huge and his face was red and he was trying hard to dislodge the piece of food caught in his throat. She stood up and was about to go try to give him the heimlich maneuver but suddenly he was breathing again. "Are you okay?" She asked frantically.

He nodded, clearing his throat. "I'm good," he said, taking a long drink. "So this Daryl fella, how'd you meet him?"

She laughed. "Actually I met him a while ago. I literally ran him over at the store. He was sick with the flu. I felt horrible. He stopped by my bakery last week and we hung out and last night at my place, things got... well, they got heated. I barely know the guy so it didn't get very far. And that's about it."

"This guy know you were plannin' on meetin' up with me today?"

She shrugged. "I think I mentioned it."

Merle seemed to mull this over for longer than necessary. When he finally opened his mouth to say something Carol's eyes went wide when the room was suddenly filled with a hideous rumbling sound. She looked around and then Merle paled, his hand pressing into his stomach. Surely that sound hadn't came from him!

"What was that?" She asked in a quiet voice, glancing around the room.

The sound came again and Merle groaned, standing up so quickly that he toppled his chair over. He turned, nearly tripping over the overturned chair and then he ran out of the room. Carol sat there staring after him and heard him make a distressed sound.

"Oh Jesus Christ!" Merle bellowed and then she heard something hit the floor. The sound came from the living room. "No, no. Fuck me, no! Oh God!" All of that was followed by pounding feet on the stairs.

She sat there, stunned, for a few long minutes, waiting for him to come back down. When it seemed like enough time had passed she got up and went to the living room. She righted a small table that had fallen, or had been knocked over in his haste to get to wherever he needed to go. She was guessing that the only place he could have been running for was the bathroom. She remembered the horrible sound that his stomach had made and then clamped her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing.

This was definitely no laughing matter. Not at all. The man was obviously sick. She went to the bottom of the stairs, her hand resting on the ornate wooden banister and stared up, unsure what to to do. "Merle?" She called nervously. She was met with silence but finally she heard a door ease open up there somewhere.

"As much as I hate to say it, I think maybe we should try this some other time," he called down.

Carol bit down hard on her lip, stifling another laugh. She felt horrible but it was useless to try to pretend like this wasn't hilarious. That poor man. "Sure, just message me or give me a call. I'll send you my number."

She was answered with a mumbled response that she didn't catch but she wasn't about to ask him to repeat himself. She hightailed it out to her car, hoping that the sound of her laughter didn't carry up there.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

Daryl wasn't surprised at all when he saw that Carol's car wasn't parked in the driveway. The day hadn't been a total bust. He had caught a decent amount of fish and he was planning on cleaning them up and getting them fried. Being outdoors always made him feel better about bullshit.

And damn if there wasn't a whole lot of bullshit to deal with at the moment.

He slammed the truck door and hopped up into the bed, grabbing the fish he had strung on the line. When he looked up from the walk he saw Merle standing there glaring at him. Daryl wasn't too worried about Merle figuring out he had spiked his coffee with laxatives. As far as Merle knew, he had no motive to do any underhanded dirty stuff like that.

He climbed the steps and looked up, about to tell Merle that they were gonna have themselves a mess of fresh fish. Before he could open his mouth to say anything at all Merle punched him right in the jaw.

"What the fuck!" Daryl growled, catching himself before he tumbled down the porch steps.

Merle was advancing quickly so Daryl swung with all his might. The sound of the fish smacking Merle in the cheek was wet. Merle glared. "You gonna cause a grown man to shit his pants and then you're gonna slap him in the face with some dead fish?"

Daryl ducked away from another hit and danced out of Merle's way. "I don't know what the fuck you're talkin' about! Last I checked you were potty trained you big dumb fucker!" He dropped the fish and then ducked again but came up swinging. He caught Merle in the chin, rocking his head back and then he slammed into him so Merle went sprawling.

Merle had known what was coming and grabbed Daryl's shirt, dragging him down with him. If Merle got him on his back it was going to be over pretty fast and by over, he meant that Merle would fuck him up pretty good.

Merle moved faster than Daryl thought he would, straddling his midsection and going to pin his arms. Daryl knew that if the man succeeded, he'd get one hell of a busted nose because Merle would use his big idiot head.

Daryl got one arm free, his hand reaching for anything he could use as a weapon because he wasn't beyond fighting dirty to keep a few of his teeth intact. His hand closed over one of the goddamn fish instead of something more useful, like a hammer or a crowbar.

"I know you were with her last night you little cock sucker! And you spiked my goddamn coffee with somethin' to fuck me outta getting a piece," Merle barked.

Daryl moved quickly, smashing the dead fish into Merle's mouth with all his might. Merle jerked backwards, over corrected and fell over, spitting and scrubbing his hand across his mouth. Daryl scurried up and out of Merle's reach while Merle sat there fuming. Daryl scowled down at the ruined fish and then glared at his brother, who was now pulling himself up off the porch. "Don't call her that," he snapped, not thinking about the words before they came spilling out.

Merle glared right back and wiped his mouth again. "What?"

"A piece. She ain't a piece. She's a goddamn person and a damn good one. That right there is the whole reason I did what I did. I knew what you were gonna do."

Merle threw his arms up wildly. "What in the goddamn hell difference does it make? It ain't like I conned her into comin' here to steal her virtue for fucks sake. If I got her in bed it's cause she woulda went willingly. What the fuck is it to you anyway?"

Daryl kicked a fish at him and then stormed inside but Merle was hot on his heels.

"Lockin' the downstairs bathroom was the dirtiest shit ever you fucker," he growled, stomping past. "You tell me what the fuck your problem is or I'm gonna call this woman right now and tell her that you're my brother. You're lucky I didn't say shit to her while she was here."

Daryl rubbed his aching jaw. "You wouldn't have said shit regardless, asshole, I snooped on your computer and that's how I knew what you were up to. You told her I had to wear a goddamn helmet around the house and that I wet my bed! You're a sick bastard. You tell her about me then you blow your own cover."

"You don't even know this woman!" Merle barked. "And you son of a bitch! Why the fuck were you snoopin' through my shit?"

Daryl shook his head. "I was sick so I got on the computer and your stupid dating site popped up. Don't you turn this around on me! You wanna use that woman for-"

"Who the fuck cares!"

Daryl shook his head and stormed past him. "You end this shit, Merle. I'm tellin' her who you are soon so you might as well just not talk to her anymore."

"Did you set up Rick Grimes too?" Merle asked, looking like he was over it all for the most part.

Daryl shook his head.

A slow smile graced Merle's face and Daryl groaned inwardly. "You got yourself some feelin's for this lady don't you?" He asked.

Daryl scoffed. "What the fuck are you talkin' about? You were right. I barely even know her."

"You know her enough to fuck her, though, right?" Merle asked, leering at him.

Daryl shook his head. "I didn't fuck her!"

"Nah, you didn't, cause she put a stop to it cause she's got feelin's for another man. That's the problem with women like that, brother. They think they gotta have some kind of feelin's before they can let you get up in there. Well, looks like neither one us are gonna hit it and quit it, which is the only reason I'm lettin' you walk away with all your teeth. I knew after the first five minutes that I wasn't getting laid today. Might as well give it up."

Daryl just shook his head in disgust and headed up the stairs. He smelled like fish and shame. At least he could wash part of the stink off himself.

~H~

Carol barely escaped Andrea's clutches. The woman meant well but Christ! She was so nosy. And she was also disappointed because Carol was finished with this whole dating site nonsense. It was a ridiculous idea to begin with and she should have ended it from the start like she had wanted to do in the first place.

The complete flop of a lunch date with Merle paired with the awful experience she had had in Rick's car was proof enough that she wasn't very good at any of this. She would contact Darrin, who still hadn't messaged her back, and let him know that she felt something for him, she wanted to meet him so she would give him her number and then hope for the best.

She climbed the stairs to her apartment and sighed heavily. She hoped that Darrin would agree to meet her. The man was perfect for her. Everything he had revealed about his heartbreaking past, his barely there sense of humor, the way he seemed so shy but once she really got him talking about something he loved, like the outdoors, he would open right up. He was such an honest complex man. She knew it wasn't smart to feel that way about a man that never offered to meet her in person but it wasn't like she could just turn it off.

But then there was Daryl. Daryl, who was almost painfully shy until... well, until he simply wasn't. He was a beautiful man and she did like him but she could just sense that he was holding back a whole lot. It was like he didn't want her to know anything about him at all and that bothered her. If not for that then he would have been a really great catch.

It didn't help matters that, despite her feelings for Darrin, she wanted to rip off Daryl's clothes and devour the poor man. She had never been more physically attracted to another person in her life and she was resigned to the fact that Darrin would definitely not be Daryl in the looks department. He still hadn't put up a photo. He had to have been ashamed of his appearance.

She threw her purse onto the dining table and headed straight for her office. She was prepared for the disappointment she was bound to feel if Darrin hadn't messaged her back and she was nervous to see his reply once she told him she was deleting her account but wanted to see him.

She paused when she saw that she had a message from him. She clicked on it hurriedly, feeling like she hadn't talked to him in forever.

 _How was your date?_

She stared at the message. What did she say? She knew he wasn't talking about her lunch date. He was curious about how things had gone with Daryl the night before. Did she tell him that they left the bar early, went back to her place and then proceeded to make out? Her fingers paused over the keys.

 _It was nice. Much better than the first one. Daryl is a sweet guy._

She sent the message, preparing to tell him that she had to meet him when she got another message from him right away.

 _I need to see you. Is that okay?_

She stared at the message in disbelief.

 _Yes, of course! I was just going to tell you that I was going to delete my account here and just send you my number. I've wanted to meet you for a while but you've never brought it up._

She waited for his reply, glancing at the clock every few minutes until finally, it showed that he was typing.

 _I'm gonna go ahead and apologize in advance. I'll apologize again in person if you let me. Either way, just know that I don't make it a habit of spilling my guts to strangers and everything I've said to you here has been the God's honest truth. You're easy to talk to and you deserve a good man. I hope you find one._

She felt her heart hurt a little bit for the man. Why was he so sure that she wouldn't still like him after they met? Did he really think she would care if he wasn't the most handsome man in the world? He was still kind and funny and... She sighed. He was perfect and she wished that he would feel the same about himself.

 _Darrin, you are an amazing man and I'll think you're an amazing man after we meet in person. Please don't feel like you have to be embarrassed about anything at all with me._

She sent that message and then sent her number and the address to the bakery. She closed at eight o'clock and she told him to meet her there at nine tomorrow night. He didn't message her back but it showed that he had received the message. A few minutes later he logged off. She frowned at the screen for a few long moments and then decided to go ahead and get some things ready for tomorrow. Baking always seemed to sooth her nerves.


	14. Chapter 14

**I'm going to try to update this weekend but with it being Mother's day and all I'm not sure if I'll be around. I have a ton of running to do. If you don't see me until Monday then Happy Mother's day to any moms out there and have a safe weekend!**

 **Chapter Fourteen**

Daryl tossed and turned for most of the night and when he did sleep it was fleeting. When he got up for work he didn't bother fixing himself a cup of coffee, even though he felt like he needed three pots. He didn't trust Merle anymore. The man would end up getting him back for the stunt he had pulled the day before and today he had to work and wasn't willing to risk it.

The day seemed to switch between dragging by at a snails pace and speeding along like a runaway freight train. On one hand, he was ready to get this over with. He knew that it was all going to end very badly. He had dug himself into one hell of a deep hole and it was high time he faced the music.

The thing that bothered him the most wasn't the fact that he was about ninety percent sure she was never going to want to see him again. It was because he knew that the reason she wouldn't want to see him again was because he was going to hurt her.

He hadn't meant for it to happen. He hadn't wanted to actually drag this on and he had never imagined that she would end up falling for him over the damn internet. And he sure as hell hadn't expected to fall for her right back. But goddamn he had fallen hard.

Merle was ignoring him, which was a lot better than him hassling him. He showered and put on the best clothes he owned, which was a t-shirt with the sleeves intact and a pair of dark jeans with only a small hole in the knee. The only shoes he owned were his work boots so that would just have to do. Besides, he had a feeling that he wasn't going to be there for long.

~H~

Carol checked her reflection one last time, satisfied that she at least looked presentable. She was nervous. More nervous than she had been the night before when she had went to meet Daryl. Daryl was different. He was mysterious and sexy and that was great but Darrin was something else. He was deep and he was complex and he was honest. The way she felt about him was very different. Maybe she wouldn't want to strip him down as soon as she saw him but the prospect of spending time with him, to being able to look him in the eye when she talked to him, well, as sappy as it was, it gave her butterflies.

This was a man that she felt like she had known her whole life.

She hurried down the steps, nearly slipping in her haste. She locked the doors back after hurrying into the bakery and then closed the vertical blinds. She snatched an apron from the hook inside the bakery's spacious kitchen and went to put the steaks on to broil. Everything else was already finished, keeping warm in the overhead oven.

She knew he wasn't particularly fond of wine so she had bought his favorite beer. She knew that his favorite color was green and so that was the color of the dress she had picked out. She also knew that he liked being outside so she had gotten one of the tables ready in the small garden out back.

She told herself over and over that his last message had been ominous at best and that she should calm down and breath. She knew all of this but she couldn't contain her excitement. She was terrified and ecstatic all at the same time.

The only dim spot in her mood was that, while she was thrilled to get to meet this man, she couldn't shake the image of Daryl from her mind. It tainted the whole evening because she felt guilty. Guilty because she knew that Darrin was not going to look anything like that and guilty because when she did think of Daryl, the warm feeling that filled her was designated to one specific area of her body.

She was very conflicted but her heart was more important than her... her other regions, and she was going to listen to her heart and not her hormones.

Besides, Daryl would be a fling. He didn't come off as the type to get too emotionally invested in a woman and she wanted more than that. She was too old to think about being some meaningless fling to a man like Daryl.

She glanced up at the clock, her pulse speeding up. She had five minutes.

~H~

Daryl stopped at the stop sign and put the truck in park. Another half block and he'd be there. And then it would be over. Over before it had even started. God, he felt like the worlds biggest piece of shit. Merle was bad but Merle hadn't strung her along like Daryl had over the past few weeks.

He ran a hand over his face and stared off down the street. His palms were sweating. He looked up in the rear view mirror when someone honked. He stuck his middle finger out the window and then put the truck in gear. He needed to stop acting like a pussy. He got himself into this and now he had to get himself out.

At least he hadn't fucked her. God, that would have made this a whole lot worse than it was going to be. And he'd had every intention of doing just that the night before. If she would have given him the go ahead then he would have gotten her out of her clothes in five seconds flat.

"Jesus, I'm worse than Merle," he growled at himself. He winced remembering what she had said in that message the night before. She'd said that she thought he was an amazing man, when really, he was a fucking game playing asshole.

He pulled into the parking lot, his heart heavy in his chest.

~H~

She heard the sound of an engine shut off in the parking lot just as she was getting their plates ready. Her pulse jumped and she noticed that her palms were sweating fiercely. She blotted them on the apron and then took it off.

She hurried to the door just as someone tapped on it. She reminded herself that this was the man that she had spent the last few weeks getting to know. This was the man that she had shared things with that even Andrea didn't know about. She took a deep breath and then unlocked the door, pulling it open quickly.

She blinked in surprise but recovered quickly. "Daryl?"

"Hey," he said, shifting from one foot to the other.

She noticed that he had actually taken the time to clean up a bit before coming over but this was the worst time he could have chosen! "I'm sorry, Daryl, but I have plans tonight," she said, almost regretfully.

He swallowed and glanced past her before his eyes swept over her. "I... can I come in a minute?"

She glanced over her shoulder and sighed. "Actually I'm meeting someone here and-"

"That's kind of what this is about. He ain't comin'," he said quickly.

Her brows came down in a frown. "Excuse me?"

"Darrin. He ain't comin'. Look, just let me in and I'll explain everything and then I'll go, okay?" He seemed upset.

She opened the door wider and let him come inside. She locked the door back and then faced him. "You know Darrin?"

Daryl shook his head, glanced around like he was looking for an escape route and then finally met her eyes. "He ain't real."

Carol scoffed. "Daryl, really. I just spoke with him last night-"

"You talked to me last night. You talk to me every fuckin' night, okay. He ain't real. I made him up. But if you'll-" His voice trailed off and he shook his head.

Realization hit her right in the face then. It had been a joke. He had played some sort of cruel joke on her, pretending to be someone else. She felt tears sting her eyes but she blinked them back when red hot anger took the place of the shock and hurt. She felt so incredibly stupid. "Get the hell out," she snapped. "I can't believe you would try to play games with me like that!"

He shook his head, holding up his hands in a defensive gesture. "Just listen, okay. My brother, he was tryin' to weasel his way into your pants on that damn dating site and I happened to see it. I was pissed off that he'd do somethin' like that and so I-"

"What are you talking about? Who is your brother?" She felt sick to her stomach and the humiliation had her face burning.

"Merle. Merle is my brother."

~H~

Daryl watched as her mouth opened and then closed several times but no words came out. There were angry tears in her eyes and her face was red. He'd never felt so fucking low in his life.

She closed her eyes then, took a few deep breaths and then opened them. "Well," she said, a tight humorless smile on her face, "I'm glad that I could offer you and your brother a real good laugh. I hope it was fun. You have three seconds to get out or I'm calling the police."

"Carol, listen, it ain't like that. I swear to God, I was me when I was talkin' to you. Everything I said was the truth!"

"And who were you the other night? You know, when we were all over each other on my couch! You would have just had sex with me knowing that you've been lying to me for weeks!" She snapped. "Who were you when you came in here that day? I'm not an idiot, Daryl. If that's even your name. I want you to go."

"Would you-"

" _Get out_!" She yelled, shoving him towards the door so hard that he backed away from her.

He thought that maybe it wasn't the anger that was causing her to lash out like that. He'd hurt her and he had to at least explain, or try, before he walked out the door and then she never spoke to him again. "No," he said firmly.

Her mouth dropped open then. "What the hell do you mean, no? This is my place of business, it's closed, you're trespassing on _my_ property.

"I ain't leavin' until you let me explain!" He yelled right back.

"You saw your brother having a little fun online and decided to join him. You lied, you manipulated me, you set me up to look like the biggest fool in Georgia. I understand already."

He shook his head. "That ain't what happened woman! Jesus! Would you just listen?"

She shook her head and stormed away. He followed her all the way to the kitchen but he stopped when she picked up the phone on the wall. Her eyes came up, met his briefly while she held the phone to her ear. She looked away at the same time he did. She was plenty mad all right but there was more hurt in that look than anything else.

"Yes, this is Carol Peletier. There is a man in my place of business and he's refusing to leave. I've been closed for over an hour. I've asked several times. Could you send an officer to-"

He didn't hear the rest because he gave up and walked away. He didn't blame her for feeling the way she felt but he wished she'd understand that he hadn't meant for things to go this way. He hadn't known how to just come out and tell her before she actually fell for him. And then he had simply been too invested to stop.

With a heavy heart he started the truck, looking up when the door to the bakery opened up and Carol stepped out. He felt hope for a few seconds but she turned around without even looking at him and locked the door before hurrying around the side to the stairs.

He cursed out loud and then backed out of the parking lot.

 **Keep in mind that she's hurt and lashing out, with good reason, even if he hadn't meant for things to go the way they went. You know you can trust me =)**


	15. Chapter 15

**I felt bad just leaving you guys hanging like that when I had the other chapter ready so here you go. A double update. Thanks for reading and Happy Mother's day =)**

 **Chapter Fifteen**

Carol felt her friends eyes on her but she ignored her. Andrea had been on her case for two weeks and Carol had finally agreed to get out of the house. That didn't mean that she was going to pretend like she wasn't miserable for Andrea's benefit. If the woman wanted to insist that Carol go out then fine, she could deal with the miserable mood.

"Would you rather go get plastered at a bar and take home a couple of strange men?" Andrea asked, letting her fork drop to her plate with a loud clang.

Carol looked up, chewing her food slowly. "Actually, I would rather be home where I can sulk in peace."

Andrea sighed heavily. "I think that maybe you should let the guy explain. It's obvious that you really did care about him and you said yourself that he tried to talk to you. If you were some joke to him he could have shown up and laughed in your face. He didn't do that."

Carol shook her head. "I cared about who he was pretending to be. If I never see that man again as long as I live then I'll be happy."

"Well, you haven't seen him in two weeks and that sure as hell hasn't made you happy," Andrea said dryly.

"Drop it," Carol said, her voice low. "He made me feel like the biggest idiot in the world. I talked to him about everything. I told him things I've never told anyone else. He knows everything about me. But I was just a joke. I was just someone that he could toy with. Do you have any idea how that makes me feel? How humiliated I feel? How violated?" She hated feeling anger towards her friend but the woman needed to let this one go.

"I'm sure that you feel awful and you feel like a tool. But really, you should listen to him. Let him at least tell his side and maybe-" Andrea's voice trailed off when Carol finally threw down her napkin and stood up.

"I need some air," she said, unable to keep the anger out of her voice.

"Carol, would you just-"

"I'm fine, Andrea. I'm going to be anyway. Coming out tonight was just a bad idea. I'm not very good company but you know me," she smiled slightly, "I'll be okay. I'll call you tomorrow."

Andrea didn't look happy but she nodded. "Okay."

"Thanks for dinner," Carol said, squeezing her shoulder as she passed her.

She stepped outside, fishing her keys out of her bag before stepping out from under the awning. It hadn't been raining when they had gotten there but it was pouring now. She didn't even mind. It suited her mood. She would go home and pour herself a glass of wine and maybe take a hot shower and try to get over this funk she was in.

She cursed her car when it took a few tries to start. She'd been having car trouble for a few days now and she knew she should have it looked at but that was one of the downsides to being a single woman. She didn't know much about cars and every time something happened to hers she was almost sure that she was being screwed over by the mechanic. There just wasn't a whole lot she could do about it.

The check engine light lit up after she was about a mile away from the restaurant and then a few miles later, the stupid thing simply died. She coasted to the shoulder of the road, sighing heavily as she dug around her bag for her phone.

"You've got to be kidding me," she growled, pulling the bag onto her lap and then digging through it frantically. She had not left her phone at home. There was no way she was that stupid. But it wasn't in the bag, where she had thought she had put it.

She refused to cry, even though she wanted nothing more than to sink down into her self pity and stay there for a year. Why the hell was her luck so horrible here lately?

~H~

Daryl tossed the pizza boxes onto the passenger seat and shook rain from his hair like a dog. Usually he didn't work on weekends but he had offered to pull some overtime since he didn't really have anything better to do and the extra money wouldn't hurt either. He hadn't realized that him and the other two guys that had volunteered would end up pulling eleven hours instead of eight.

It was either stay the extra hours and get this job finished so they could start the next one fresh on Monday or be stuck finishing up one site and then moving everything to the other. All of them had agreed to stay but now it was getting late and Merle was gonna act like he'd spent the whole day starving just because all they had at the house was stuff he'd have to cook and Merle wasn't about cooking.

He was also uncomfortable. He'd woke up this morning to find huge strategically cut holes in the ass and crotch of every pair of work pants and every pair of boxers he owned. He'd had to borrow Merle's pants and Merle was a lard ass. The only thing holding the pants up was his belt and he'd had no choice but to free ball cause he wasn't touching Merle's underwear. With Daryl's luck he'd end up with goddamn jock itch. And he knew Merle was just getting warmed up.

He squinted through the sheeting rain, going slower than he needed to go. He wasn't too excited about getting home and spending another long night with his new best friend, regret. He still felt like a shitheel for what he had done but it wasn't only that.

He missed talking to her.

It was stupid because they hadn't actually spent a whole lot of time together but he had talked to her every night. He'd gotten used to it and it had been something that he looked forward to every damn day. Now he just felt lonely and he felt bad. He felt really bad.

She thought that he had gone out of his way to make a fool of her. She thought he'd done what he had done out of meanness and he didn't blame her for thinking that, but he wished he had a chance to explain. He had tried but she hadn't been willing to listen. He guessed that if the shoe was on the other foot, he would have reacted the exact same way.

He saw a car on the side of the road up ahead and moved over slightly into the other lane. He didn't feel like being a dick and splashing the hell out of whoever the poor bastard was. Once he got a little closer and then actually passed the car he realized that it was a familiar one.

"No fuckin' way," he muttered to himself, but he knew it was her car. He pulled off the road a few yards ahead of her and hopped down from the truck. He knew that she didn't want a damn thing to do with him and that was her business but he wasn't about to leave her stranded on the side of the road.

He wasn't in any hurry to really talk to her, since he knew that whatever she had to say wasn't going to be very nice, so he walked slower than he would otherwise, getting soaked but not caring. The last time the two of them had spent any amount of time together was during a storm much worse than this one. He pushed those memories away and then tapped on her window.

The door opened then and if he hadn't been as fast as he was it would have slammed right into him. She got out, flashing him a cold look, hands on her hips. "Are you following me?"

He pushed his hair out of his face and glared right back. "No I'm not followin' you. I was on my way home and saw your car," he said, keeping his own voice level.

She narrowed her eyes then but finally just huffed out a frustrated breath. "Can I use your phone? I left mine at home."

He shook his head. "I ain't got a phone. Best I can do is hook your car up to the truck and pull you to your place. I can take a look at it tomorrow if you want."

She shook her head quickly. "No, I'm fine. I'll wait for the rain to ease up and I'll walk. Thank you for stopping," she said quickly, opening the door.

He caught her wrist before she was able to get back into the car. She jerked her hand out of his grip and the glare returned. He tried hard not to glare right back but it wasn't working out very well. "That's six miles, Carol and it's pourin' buckets. You can't walk home at night, alone. You wanna get picked up by some freak?"

She glanced between him and his truck and finally nodded. "Fine. Hook it up then but I can find my own mechanic. The last thing I need is to owe you any favors."

He agreed, just because he was soaked and he wasn't going to stand out in this deluge and argue with her. It wouldn't do him any good anyway. She wasn't going to let anything go and he wasn't the type to chase someone that clearly didn't want to be chased, even if he did care about her.

The drive to her place was a long one, since he had to go slower. She had to ride in her own car so she could steer and use the brakes at the stop lights. If a cop had spotted them then they would have probably been pulled over but the road they used was practically deserted. He pulled into the parking lot of the bakery without a hitch.

~H~

She couldn't believe this. Of all the people that could have driven past while she was stuck on the side of the road it had to be him? Hadn't fate played enough cruel jokes on her when it came to this man? She almost wished that he had simply driven past. Maybe honked at her to let her know that he had seen her stranded and didn't give a damn.

The fact that he was going out of his way to help her gave her pause and she hated him for it. How was she going to be able to stay this mad at him when he did things like this? Here he was, soaked to the bone, unhooking the chains while she sat in her useless car.

Had Andrea been right for once? Should she give him a chance to at least speak? She didn't feel like she owed him that. He hadn't had to lie to her and he certainly hadn't had to drag her along for weeks. The thing that made her the most angry was the fact that, when he had been at her house, he would have slept with her. He would have slept with her knowing that he was lying to her about who he really was and that was just wrong. Regardless of his excuses for doing what he had done, using her for sex wasn't forgivable. And even if he hadn't been planning on simply using her for sex, he still would have had sex with her knowing she didn't even know him.

And part of it was her own fault for falling for it all to begin with but he was responsible too. What she hated the most was the fact that she missed him terribly. Or maybe not him, but the person he had led her to believe he was. The man that she spent so much time getting to know.

He'd told her that the person she had been talking to had been him. That he had been honest about everything other than his name. But was that just another lie? Should she really hear him out? She chewed her lip in thought, watching until he tossed the chains into the back of his truck.

She got out, still debating on whether she should talk to him about all of this but suddenly he threw his hand up at her in a wave and jumped in the truck. Without a word he pulled out of the parking lot and drove away towards his own house.

"Well shit," she muttered, watching him go.


	16. Chapter 16

**Hope you all enjoyed your Mother's day weekend. Mine was a nightmare and I'm glad it's over. Thanks for reading!**

 **Chapter Sixteen**

She woke up later than she had expected to but she was glad for it. She was also glad that she hadn't tried talking to Daryl Dixon the night before. She wished she could have at least thanked him for pulling her car home but he hadn't given her a chance and that was okay. The man was nothing but trouble when it came to her emotional state and she didn't need the headache.

She kept telling herself this over and over, like if she repeated it enough in her own head, it would make not talking to him easier.

She got dressed in a hurry and headed for the door. She would make some coffee downstairs, since she spent a lot more money on the brand that she served to her customers than she spent on her own personal caffeine stash. She pulled her tank top away from her skin, already starting to sweat from the intense heat and the drowning humidity that tailed the storm from the night before.

She stopped once she rounded the corner. Her mouth dropping open.

Daryl was just shutting the hood of her car. There was a tool box sitting next to him, which he quickly closed. He didn't even glance back towards the building. He sat the tools back into the truck bed and then wiped his hands on his ratty old jeans before heading to the door of his truck.

A part of her wanted to stay hidden in the shadows until he was gone, but that part of her was small. She stepped out into the glare of the sun, shielding her eyes. When he turned to get into the truck he spotted her and stopped in his tracks.

He took a deep breath, glanced at her car and then met her eyes squarely. "Don't bother with a mechanic. I had what I needed to fix it myself. The way I figure it, I saved you at least five hundred bucks today, and I don't think that makes us even by a long shot, but at least you can stop thinkin' I'm a _complete_ asshole, cause I ain't. I left a card in your glove box. I got a buddy that's a mechanic and he'll treat you okay if you just let him know that you know me." He said what needed to be said and then he climbed into the truck.

She stood there, staring as he started it and was about to back out. She glanced between the truck and the bakery and then stepped out onto the hot black top, hoping with everything in her that she wasn't making a terrible mistake.

"Wait," she said quickly.

He paused, staring out the windshield before finally dragging his gaze over to her.

She swallowed hard and rubbed at the back of her neck nervously. "Thank you."

He nodded but didn't say anything, waiting her out.

"How long did it take you to fix it?" She asked, noting that he was covered in sweat and his shoulders and the bridge of his nose were showing the first signs of a sunburn.

He shrugged. "Couple of hours."

If he had really wanted to hurt her by what he had done then why would he go out of his way to do things like this for her? Was she just being stubborn? "You look really hot," she said.

He raised a brow at that.

She flushed. "It's humid out here. That's what I meant," she said hurriedly. Jesus!

"I noticed," he said dryly, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. "I'll see you around, Carol."

"Would you like a drink or something? I don't open until noon but I like to get in there early and get things prepped."

He studied her for a few seconds but he didn't turn the truck off. "You gonna call the law on me again?"

She shook her head. "If you want to talk then I'm giving you the opportunity to talk. If you don't want to bother then that's fine too. I still appreciate you fixing my car and not letting me walk home last night."

He turned off the truck and got out. He looked like he was still bracing himself for a fight but she didn't say anything else. She led him into the bakery, sighing as the cold air started drying the sweat she could feel on her neck.

"Before I can let you give me a free drink I gotta tell you somethin' else," he said quickly.

She turned, bracing herself. "Okay," she said, ready to hear that his name wasn't even Daryl.

He pushed his sweaty hair away from his forehead and glanced around the room. Keeping his eyes on anything but hers. "I shoved stink bait under the seat of Rick's car the night that he took you out," he said, his voice regretful.

She frowned. "I thought Rick was your friend." Why was this man so difficult to figure out? He fixed her car for free, which was something a nice guy would do, but then he had sabotaged her date with Rick, even though Rick was his friend and that was something an asshole would do. "I'm starting to think you have multiple personality disorder or something."

He nodded. "He is my friend. I guess he is anyway. He said he was takin' you out and then I got pissed off and so I set him up to look bad. I didn't do it to ruin your _night_. Just your date."

She noticed the color rising in his cheeks. "That doesn't make any sense."

He shook his head. "I guess it wouldn't," he said in a low voice. "I also spiked my brother's coffee with laxatives so that date would be a flop too, even though I knew you wouldn't fall for his shit. But if it makes you feel any better, he punched me in the face for it."

She stared at him until he was shifting from one foot to the other again. "Daryl, why did you pretend to be someone else online?"

He finally met her eyes, holding her gaze for a few long moments and she let him take his time because he really did seem eager to explain himself. "At first I did it because I thought I could steer you away from my brother. I love him and all but he's a goddamn womanizing pig. He's also smart. He told me about you. Said that he was gonna throw on the charm cause you wasn't the type to fall for his lines. I saw your picture, read your info and I felt bad. Then I saw you at the store."

"You knew I was on that site before I saw you?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I recognized you and then you had to be all nice and shit and it pissed me off even more that my brother was gonna try to play his stupid game. I bought a computer that night and-"

"You went out and bought a computer while sick with the flu?" She asked, surprised.

He nodded, flushing. "I know, it was fuckin' lame, but all I wanted to do was help."

"Why didn't you just say it was you?"

He shrugged. "Why didn't I just say it was me? You _know_ me, the real me, so you answer that one yourself."

She bit the inside of her lip. He didn't have the highest opinion of himself. At least, that was what she had discovered on her own when she had been talking to him online. He had told her that he wasn't good at talking to people in general and he was even worse when it came to women for some reason. He'd been on the receiving end of rejection more often than not when it came to people that he had thought actually cared about him. She knew all of this because he had told her already. When she actually put the personality of Darrin Smith with the man standing in front of her, a lot of things actually clicked in her head. "Did you really think I wouldn't like you?"

He huffed and then sat down in the nearest chair, picking at a hang nail and studying the table top. "Not after I got to know you. I wasn't out lookin' for a fuckin' fling or anything. All I wanted to do was help you out and then shit got all messed up. It was too late to do anything so I finally just said fuck it and told you what I'd done. It went about as well as I expected."

"And that night upstairs?" She asked, the volume of her voice barely carrying.

He looked up, his eyes guarded. "That ain't why I went up there."

She nodded. "I know. But..."

He sighed heavily and nodded before standing up. "Yeah. I would have, and that makes me a dick, I know it does, and I ain't got any big explanations for that one cause there ain't one. It was wrong, it was fucked up and it was a damn dirty thing to do to somebody that you liked but I woulda done it." He looked at the door and took a step towards it, probably sure that she would kick him out after admitting that.

And maybe, just maybe, she should have. Because it would have been wrong but she had been there too. Things had escalated quickly between them and neither one of them had been thinking very clearly. She was really starting to believe that nothing he had done had been done out of maliciousness.

She grabbed his wrist. "You can't build a friendship with somebody if all you're going to do is lie to them."

"I know that," he said, glancing down at her hand and then meeting her eyes again. "And I did lie, but I also told the truth. Every horrible embarrassing off the wall thing that I told you whenever we talked, every bit of it was the truth. I didn't make up a damn thing other than my name and my brother's name."

She dropped her hand and then took a deep breath, holding his gaze and praying that she wasn't making a huge mistake. "I really liked the person that I was talking to," she said quietly.

He nodded. "I _was..._ I mean I _am_ the person you were talkin' to."

"And even though I think you went about it in a horrible way, I think that your heart was in the right place. At least, I really hope it was." And she really did because she couldn't deny the fact that there really was something very tangible there between them. She was afraid to send him away because the thought of really not having anything to do with him again made her feel awful. She liked him. He had made a mistake but at least he had come clean.

He shook his head. "It was."

"And you need to pass it along to your brother that he didn't have a chance in hell, even if he hadn't ran screaming from the room like a madman."

He snorted. "I knew he didn't."

"You still want that drink?" She asked, feeling very much like she was making the right decision.

"Yeah, it's hot as fuck out there."


	17. Chapter 17

**I officially no longer have a computer. My laptop kicked the bucket. I emailed myself all of my documents weeks ago so my stories were safe. All but one, since it was almost finished I didn't see the need. Can you guess which one? Yes, it was this one. So, I had to rewrite this chapter last night on a desk top, in my living room, where everyone else goes to be loud and watch tv and all that crap. Lol It wasn't the easiest chapter to write. I hope it doesn't ooze bitterness because I'm pretty bitter. It's just been a really bad week, but that is why this chapter was delayed. Anyway, thanks for reading and sorry for the wait!**

 **Chapter Seventeen**

Daryl wasn't used to having any really close friends. He had Merle and he had acquaintances and that was about it. He wasn't used to making phone calls and he wasn't used to making plans to just hang out with someone. Apparently, he was getting used to it now. It had been two months since the morning he had fixed Carol's car and she had finally let him tell her why he had done what he had done.

And they'd been friends ever since.

And that was it.

And it drove him up the fucking wall.

It wasn't that he didn't enjoy her company or anything because he did. It was that he enjoyed it too much and she had made it perfectly clear that friendship was about the only thing she was willing to trust him with. He'd blown his chances of ever actually being with her.

So he was her friend instead.

He stopped in at the bakery sometimes and once she even showed up at a job site, bearing lunch that she had made. He had visited her at her house where they would watch a movie or sit around doing a little bit of nothing. She showed up at the bar a few times when he'd been there and they would chat. It wasn't much but he was glad for whatever she was willing to give him.

It was still a little depressing though. Not as depressing as when she seemed to hate him, but still a little disheartening at least. He was sure that she was the one. He'd heard other people use that phrase and he'd scoff because he hadn't really believe that there was someone out there for everyone. But he didn't scoff anymore.

It was hard but he made due with the friendship. It was better than nothing. It was Saturday and he was suppose to meet her at the bar but he'd been in an off mood all day and another night of playing the friend wasn't something he thought he was up for.

He called her cell but got her voice mail. He left a message telling her that he was going to be a no show. He'd probably just go to bed early and hit the woods before daylight. She wouldn't call the house so he wasn't worried about her trying to talk him into going out anyway. Merle had no clue that he still talked to her at all and she had said before that she never wanted to set eyes on Merle again. She had moved on to blaming him for the whole mess that had happened. He didn't bother correcting her. He'd been Merle's scapegoat more than once so Merle could take this one for him.

~H~

Carol sighed and tossed her phone onto the table after listening to his message. She'd been in the shower when he'd called and she wasn't about to call him back. She didn't want to risk Merle answering the phone. She couldn't stand that man.

Now she was all dressed up with nowhere to go. Tonight she had wanted to ask him a very important question. She had been mulling it over for a few weeks now but hadn't gotten up the nerve to say anything yet.

Until now.

And now he was bailing on her. She didn't really blame him. He tried hard to pretend like he was perfectly fine with their friendship but she had gotten to know him, the _real_ him, the face that belonged to the man she had gotten to know so much. Reading him wasn't very difficult and she knew that the situation bothered him.

And he wasn't the only one.

Over the last few months she had come to realize that he had been telling the truth. She knew him. He was the same person she had gotten to know and once everything was out in the open and he didn't have to hide anything from her she quickly realized that she wasn't going to be able to hide her own feelings for him for long.

But she had managed to do exactly that for a while now. The attraction was even more intense. At least it was for her and it was impossible to ignore anymore.

She glanced at the windows and sighed when she realized that the sun was already down. She wasn't sure if he had made other plans or if he simply didn't feel like going out but she was curious. She had been looking forward to seeing him for days and now she just felt cheated. If it wasn't for his obnoxious brother she would just go over there and talk to him.

She sighed and then stood up. Even if nothing ever happened between them, he was still her friend and she was going to have to get over her intense dislike of his brother eventually. What better time than now to start patching things up? She reached for the phone and then paused, making a split decision right then and there. She shoved the phone into her bag and then headed out.

A few minutes later she was standing on Daryl's porch, her heart pounding and her palms growing damp. She wasn't a fan of confrontation but she wasn't sure if she was going to be able to be very nice to Merle and she knew that with her luck, he would be the one to answer the door. At least Daryl's truck was in the drive so unless someone else picked him up, he was at least home.

Finally she tapped on the door and waited nervously. Sure enough, Merle threw open the door, a grin on his face that dried up when he saw that it was her. Apparently he had been expecting someone else.

"What the hell are you doin' here?" He asked, clearly surprised to see her.

"Is Daryl home?" She asked, struggling to control her voice. She wanted to slap him right upside the head.

Merle's brows went up and a slow smile spread over his face. "He's in bed."

She chewed her lip, keeping her eyes on his and refusing to budge.

He glanced over his shoulder. "You want me to get him up?"

She shook her head. "Just tell me which room is his and I can do that myself," she said, raising her chin a fraction of an inch.

He grinned, a devious grin, and opened the door wider. "I bet you can. First door on the left."

She slipped in under his arm and went straight to the stairs. She was proud of herself. She had managed to not say one rude word to the man, even though there was plenty that could have been said. She stopped outside the door that Merle had indicated and took a deep breath before knocking.

~H~

Daryl raised up on his elbows and glared at the door. Merle was expecting company, and by company, he meant he was expecting two women. He'd tried to talk Daryl into joining in on whatever kind of fucked up depraved shit they were going to get into but Daryl had declined. He'd boil his own balls off before sampling anything that his brother deemed doable.

Another knock had him scowling even harder. "I done told you that I ain't interested in some nasty ass washed up whore! Go catch the crabs on your own." Goddamn it! Couldn't a man get some fucking sleep in this house? He wasn't in the mood to deal with Merle tonight. He wasn't in the mood to deal with anybody.

When the door opened he reached up and turned the lamp on, scanning the nightstand for something to throw. He snatched up a glass and was about to take aim when he realized that it wasn't Merle standing there. It was Carol.

Fuck. What the hell was she doing here? In his goddamn messy ass room? And why the hell did she have to look so good? And why the hell did he decide that it was a good idea to sleep naked?

"I really hope that you weren't actually talking to me," she said, shutting the door behind her. "I've never had the crabs."

He sat up, blinking in the sudden brightness and pushing his hair out of his eyes. "I thought you were Merle. What the hell are you doin' here?"

She shrugged and then actually crossed the room, sitting down on the side of his bed. Jesus, he wished there was some way he could put something on. At least he was covered anyway. "We had plans," she said simply.

He looked at the clock. It was already ten and he'd called her an hour ago to cancel. "I called. You didn't get my message?"

She worried her lip for a second. "I got it but by then I was already ready to go and didn't feel like going without you. Why are you in bed so early?"

Why the hell was she wearing such a short goddamn dress? "I don't know. Wasn't feelin' like goin' out I guess."

"You could have came over and we could have stayed in," she suggested, her eyes steadily holding his. She tugged at the blanket but he grabbed a hold of it like his life depended on it. "What? Don't tell me you sleep naked." She laughed but when she got a look at his face her eyes widened. "Are you naked?"

He huffed out a breath. "It's my damn room. I can be naked in it if I want. I didn't know you'd come over here!"

"Did you decide to stay in because you're sick of hanging out with me?" She asked, bringing him up short.

"What? No! Why would you ask some stupid shit like that?"

She shrugged and then angled her body so she was facing him, her bare knee brushing his through the blanket. "Are you sure?"

He rolled his eyes. "You came over here and barged into my room just to ask me if I was sick of hangin' out with you? Can't you even let a man put some goddamn boxers on before you start askin' questions?"

She swallowed hard. "No."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "No? What the hell do you mean, no?" Jesus, he couldn't do this right now. He had a hard enough time when he was out in public with her, fully clothed. Talking to her alone, in his room, while she was sitting on his bed and he was naked wasn't something he was going to be able to do. He was grateful for her friendship but that didn't mean that he didn't think about that ill fated night on her couch a whole hell of a lot.

She shook her head and he noticed that her chest was rising and falling a little quicker. What in the hell was she doing staring at him like that?

"Do you want me to leave?" She asked, a new breathy quality to her voice.

He shook his head. "No, but it might not be a good idea for you to stay."

"Why?"

"Because..." He wasn't sure what to say. Because he wanted to fuck her? That was rude. Besides, it was more than that. He wanted to _be_ with her.

She offered him a small smile and then stood up. He wanted to tell her to just give him a minute and they could go do something but he kept his mouth shut and watched her got to the door. He leaned back on his elbows, and waited for her to go.

But she didn't open the door to leave. She locked it.


	18. Chapter 18

**Keep in mind that I live in a small crowded space and I wrote this on an unfamiliar computer, glancing over my shoulder every 30 seconds to make sure no one was looking. Lol With that said, here is the second to the last chapter. Hope everyone had a safe weekend and thanks for reading. The last chapter shouldn't take as long as this one.**

 **Chapter Eighteen**

Her heart was a bass drum in her ears. She had no idea what she was doing, which was just ridiculous because she wasn't some teenager that had never done this before, but she may as well have been. She felt flushed all over despite how cool the room was. She finally forced herself to turn around to face him.

He was raised up on his elbows, watching her. The light from the lamp was dim and from across the room his eyes seemed darker. The blanket was pulled up to his hips but she knew that under it, he wasn't wearing anything at all. That sweet ache between her legs intensified at the thought. She remembered the feel of him beneath her in her apartment that night. Knew that he had just a little bit more to offer her physically than any other man she had ever been with.

"What are you doin'?" He finally asked when she hadn't made a move towards the bed yet. His voice was warm and husky and she shivered, the ache now an unbearable throb.

She stepped out of her shoes and walked to the bed. She stopped, studying his face and when the corner of his mouth came up she felt her nervousness subside. He stayed as still as stone as her knees hit the mattress.

Random conversation wasn't his strong suit. Talking about himself always seemed to make him nervous. Crowds of people made him fidgety. Daryl Dixon had a lot of hang ups but, lucky her, this kind of thing was not one of them. He sat up quickly, gripping her hand and pulling until she was in the same position she had been in that night on her couch. She stayed on her knees, their bodies still not touching.

He was eye level with her chest in his current position and he didn't look up to meet her eyes. He kept his gaze straight ahead. "This what you want?" He asked in a painfully rough voice. The sound rolled down her spine like a physical touch and then settled low and warm.

"Yes. Is it what you want?"

His eyes came up slowly, locking onto hers with an intensity that caused her breath to rush out of her loudly. He didn't kiss her, even though she wanted him to. Instead his rough hands landed right above the bend of her knees, sliding up the back of her thighs slowly, not stopping until they reached the curve of her ass. His teeth dragged across his bottom lip as his hands fisted the flimsy material of her underwear. With one swift jerk, the panties were ruined. He tossed them somewhere behind her and then grinned as his hands continued, unobstructed.

He finally brought one hand around, not hesitating as he slipped it between her legs, his exploring fingers causing the muscles in her stomach to tighten. She was embarrassingly aroused and the muted curse that fell from his lips told her that he was a little surprised himself.

She gripped the sides of his face and finally kissed him right before he slipped one finger inside. Her body responded to him with a wave of unexpected pleasure that had her moaning into his mouth. She was struggling to get the blanket out of her way and he laughed against her lips, pulling away just enough to he could look at her.

He raised his brows. "You sure about this?" He asked, a hesitant catch to his voice even though his look was rather smug. He knew she wanted it. She could get used to this side of the man.

She nodded, not trusting her voice at all at this point. His hand abandoned her, letting the skirt fall back into place but then he was searching her back for the zipper there. Once he found it he didn't rush to get her out of the dress. His mouth went to her shoulder as his fingers moved the slender strap away. She stilled as his other hand slid back up her skirt, gripping her hip firmly.

His mouth followed the path of the slowly descending garment. When his lips reached her breasts a thrill shot up her spine, the jolt threading through every vertebrae and causing her to jerk slightly. He chuckled, the sound dark and promising and then his teeth sank into her sensitive skin. It didn't hurt but she made a strangled sound and then finally dropped her weight onto him.

Both arms went around her then and before she knew what was happening, he was moving, flipping them so she was on her back and he was between her thighs. She gripped his hair, yanking hard until his mouth was back on hers. Her heels pressed into the bed and she lifted her hips up into him. He growled, the kiss turning frantic as he fought to kick the blanket away.

Carol had never felt so desperate for anything in her life the way she was desperate for this. As soon as he had the stupid blanket kicked onto the floor she reached between them, gripping him firmly. Her eyes widened because it was obvious he was just as desperate as she was. He felt like warm granite in her hand. He raised up on one arm and their eyes met right before he moved in one quick thrust.

Her body tensed as it yielded to his but his mouth was back on hers, stifling her shocked cry. She was vaguely aware that she was still wearing the damn dress but it was bunched up around her waist. The thought was fleeting because suddenly his body was moving over hers and her mind had no more ability to think about anything at all.

He was still braced on one arm while his other hand hiked her leg up higher, giving him better access and allowing him to move deeper into her. She bit her lip hard to keep quiet but it wasn't easy. She had lusted after this man since the moment she met him and being here now, like this, had her body humming. His mouth came down on hers hungrily and another growl rumbled through his chest. Her nails bit into his back as he moved, urging him on, unable to do anything more than take what he gave her and try to keep her mouth shut.

She had never been one of those fortunate women that could actually achieve an orgasm simply by having sex with someone. There had always had to be other things involved before reaching that end. That was why it surprised her so much when suddenly her body nearly bowed off the bed as a pleasure that was deep and intense rocked through her unexpectedly.

His mouth drowned out most of her sounds and it took her a second before she realized that they were coming from her at all. He suddenly tore his mouth away from hers and looked down, meeting her eyes. "Are you on the pill or somethin'?" He asked breathlessly.

She nodded and then he picked up his pace, kissing her again. He cursed into her mouth and then she felt the heat of his release. The kiss slowed to a lazy pace and then he finally dropped his head to her shoulder. He leg go of her leg and she realized that her muscles didn't want to cooperate so it just fell open. Her body wasn't ready to let him go yet but they couldn't very well lay like that all night so he finally moved out of her and then raised up on his arms.

Her breath was still coming too fast and she was still in a bit of shock over what had happened. That had been much better than expected and she had expected it to be good. She met his eyes and then flushed deeply, unsure exactly why she was flushing.

"That was unexpected," he said, his voice still breathless.

She laughed. "Not for me. I had plans. I was suppose to seduce you at some point tonight but then you bailed on me."

He shook his head and then moved so he could feel around on the floor. He rolled off of her when he finally found his pants, pulling them on quickly but not bothering with the button. She manged to straighten the dress enough to pull it back up without even getting out of bed since he'd never actually gotten her out of it. She sat up and zipped the back before turning towards him. He was staring at the ceiling, looking sated but thoughtful. She couldn't remember ever seeing him so relaxed.

"Actually that isn't true. Not really. I didn't come here for that. I'd wanted to talk to you tonight because..." Her voice trailed off when he looked at her.

"After what I did?" He asked, knowing what she wanted to say but also knowing her well enough to know that she was going to trip over her own words. She wanted to be with him. She wanted to be more than just someone that he talked to sometimes or someone he made half hearted plans with. She wanted to be something much more than that.

"What you did was horrible," she said with a nod, "But once I came to terms with the fact that the man that I cared about so much was truly the exact same man that I wanted to get naked with, it became clear that I was only hurting myself by keeping you at arms length." And that was the truth. The person that she had spent the last few months with was the same person that she had gotten to know under the ridiculous name Darrin Smith. And she believed that he had never intended to hurt her with his actions. Things had just spiraled out of control for him.

He sat up then, gripping her hand and yanking her forward until she fell on top of him. She hadn't expected many words from him but this was confirmation that he wanted the same thing she did. She smiled against his lips, her hands cupping his neck. She could feel the quick throb of his pulse under his warm skin and was surprised when she realized that she wouldn't be opposed to another round with him.

She broke the kiss, her eyes wide as they met his. "I think you're turning me into a pervert."

This earned her a laugh but he let go of her hips. He was about to finally say something but then the sound of Merle's voice reached them through the closed door followed by a distinct female giggle.

She made a face. "Well at least I don't have to worry about having to deal with him on my way out," she muttered.

He snorted. "Love'em and leave'em type of woman, huh? I wouldn't have guessed that." He eyed her.

She slid off of him and stood up. "Daryl Dixon, I won't deny it. I do love you. Very much actually, but I'm not sleeping over and waking up to look at your ass of a brother in the morning. But you have an open invitation to my place."

She could see his body tense even from where she was standing. Daryl Dixon hadn't experienced much love in his life. He had his brother and Merle loved him in his own way. His father had been a monster and his mother had been an alcoholic until it had finally killed her when he had been a child. She knew all of these things and still the words had easily slid from her mouth. But they may not have been very easy for him to hear just yet.

He didn't say it back and she didn't expect him to. Instead he climbed out of bed and finished getting dressed, kissing her quickly and meeting her eyes and giving her a meaningful look that had her smiling. The look said more than his words could anyway. "Your place then?"

She nodded but then she paused, straining her ears to listen. "Does Merle have more than one girl with him?" She asked, her brows pulling down in disgust.

Daryl rolled his eyes. "Yep."

She chewed her lip thoughtfully, thinking about the mess that Merle had made when he had decided to lie to her online. A lot of it was Daryl's fault and she knew it but it wasn't easy to stay mad at Daryl. Merle on the other hand, staying mad at him was a breeze. She held up her finger. "Actually, can you wait right here for a second?"

He glanced at the door. "What the fuck do you have up your sleeve?" He asked, his voice concerned.

She shrugged and kissed him quickly. "I'll be right back." She slipped out of the room without another word and went to the closed door at the end of the hall. She had taken drama class in high school and had been told that she was one hell of an actress. She conjured up a few of those old tricks, holding her eyes open until they burned and then she blinked rapidly. Instantly there were tear tracks running down her cheeks and she sniffled, hiding a smile.

She threw the door open then, hands on her hips as she took in the scene. And what a scene it was. Merle was lying on the bed, in nothing but a pair of boxers, his wrists bound to the headboard. There was a half naked woman on either side of him.

His head snapped up and both woman looked at her. Merle opened his mouth to say something but she didn't let him speak.

"Merle, how could you!" She yelled, willing more tears. "You told me and the kids that you were finished with this! After finding you in bed with my very own brother only months ago, you're going to bring these women into our home!"

Merle gaped and then started spewing. "What in the fuck! Wha-"

"You're married!" The redhead on his right asked, looking outraged.

"What!" Merle looked at her, his eyes wide. "No! I barely know this woman."

Carol sobbed (laughed) behind her hands as the brunette climbed off the bed, snatching up her clothes. She turned, glaring. "And you've been with men? You cheated on your wife with her own brother!"

"No! Goddamn it, she's black balling me! I swear to Christ!"

The women were scurrying to get their clothes back on. The red head looked at Carol and then looked down. "We had no idea, honey. We'd never have came here. The best thing you can do for you and the kids is leave him!" She stormed past, followed by her friend, leaving Carol there to wipe her own tears away.

She smiled, crossed her arms and leaned her shoulder against the door frame. "Before you say a word, remember that you brought this on yourself, Merle. You wanted to play games. Well, I like games myself. The next time you decide to play with a woman, remember this."

"If you were a man I swear I'd rip your goddamn head off!" He bellowed, pulling at the strips of material that bound him.

Her brows came up. "Just for that, I'll go ahead and let you untie yourself."

"What? Oh come the fuck on, Carol. I'm serious, okay. Truce."

She turned on her heel and nearly walked right into Daryl, who was gaping at her just like his brother had. "Do you think he'd kick my ass if I untied him?" She asked.

He peered around her and waved at his brother who was back to struggling with the ties.

"I said truce, goddamn it!" He roared. "Let me go and I won't do a damn thing. I swear."

She watched as Daryl approached the bed cautiously. Daryl shook his head and reached into his back pocket, producing a pocket knife. "If I cut you loose, and you hit me, I'm gonna stab you right in the dick, you understand?" He waved the knife in front of Merle's face.

"Just cut me loose," Merle grumbled.

Daryl did just that and the sat up, glaring at Carol and rubbing his wrist. "Never in my life have a met two more underhanded dirty assholes like the two of you!"

Carol just smiled and walked out of the room, leaving Daryl there to deal with Merle. She felt pretty good about herself. She felt good about her and Daryl. For the first time in ages, she just felt damn good period.


	19. Chapter 19

**Hello! So, this is much later than I anticipated. I was forced into taking a long hiatus but here is your last chapter. I got a short story and a one shot to post then hopefully something longer will be finished soon. Thanks for reading!**

 **Chapter Nineteen**

Daryl was on edge and for good reason. He had spent two days locked up in Carol's apartment, barely coming up for air to eat and shower. By the time he had gotten home on Sunday he was exhausted, every muscle in his body aching in a way that he'd never experienced before.

"Have fun?" Merle asked when Daryl had stepped into the house.

Daryl eyed him for a few long moments and then shrugged and headed towards the kitchen. He was starving and he wasn't even sure why. Well, that wasn't exactly true. He had an idea why but he wasn't going to voice that out loud. He studied the contents of the pantry with a frown. "You bought girl scout cookies?"

Merle sat down at the table with the morning paper. "What of it?"

Daryl sighed and reached for the box. It made sense that Merle would stock up on something like this. He was a fat ass. But at least he was a fat ass that saved Daryl a few cookies. He shoved his hand into the box and then yelled in pain and surprise, yanking his hand back out and shaking it briskly. Shaking it didn't help, however, because there was a rat trap clamped to his fingers. He pried it off and threw it at Merle's face. "What the fuck is wrong with you!" Daryl yelled.

Merle raised his brows and eyed him. "You really think you're gonna get away with that stunt you pulled?"

"Me!" Daryl tossed the cookie box into the trash. "What the hell do you mean the stunt I pulled? That wasn't me, asshole."

Merle shrugged. "You didn't offer any help when your goddamn girlfriend busted my balls. Now you're gonna pay."

Daryl glared. This was bad. Merle was going to torment him and there really wasn't a damn thing he could do about it. Not unless he packed a bag and stayed away from the house until the man was off house arrest anyway. It was tempting but he wasn't about to let Merle run him off. This was just as much his house.

"What have you been up to all weekend?" Merle asked, giving the paper a sharp snap and then peering over it.

Daryl eyed him. "None of your business."

Merle shrugged and kept on reading. Daryl watched him wearily and then finally left the room. He could feel his brother's eyes boring into his back as he went. He took the stairs two at a time, cursing Merle under his breath as he went. Stopping outside his bedroom door he eyed the knob nervously but it seemed to be okay. Sure enough when he gripped it, it was dry and didn't shock him or anything. Breathing a sigh of relief he hurried into his room and felt both feet fly out from under him. He cried out and then his back hit the floor hard.

He craned his head to look towards the doorway as the overhead light turned on. Merle was ginning maniacally, wagging his eyebrows. "Merle-" Daryl growled.

Merle held up an empty tub of margarine. Daryl sat up and looked around at the floor, that was gleaming with the sheen of oily crap that covered it. "We just got started you little fucker," Merle said with a grin.

Daryl gripped the edge of the dresser and pulled himself up. "This is goin' too far, Merle. Truce, alright."

Merle shook his head. "Not a chance. You set me up one to many times and now you're gonna pay."

"You goddamn drama queen!" Daryl growled.

Merle slammed the door and headed back downstairs. Daryl sat down heavily on the edge of his bed and glared at the floor. "What a fuckin' mess," he mumbled, running the toe of his boot over the slick surface.

In all actuality he had brought this on himself. He could have stopped Carol if he'd wanted to but Merle had had it coming. The man was used to manipulating people and getting away with it and he had done it for years. It was high time someone went head to head with him and he turned up on the losing end.

But now it looked like the joke was, once again, on Daryl. Merle was gonna be ruthless now. He was going to torment him until he went crazy.

Daryl stayed in his room for a long time after he'd gathered up the stuff he needed to clean up the floor, but when his stomach started growling painfully he decided that he had no choice but to venture out. He looked first one way and then the other down the hall before finally stepping out. He was just as cautious in the bathroom, checking the shower and looking in the cupboard under the sink before daring to take a leak.

What he should have been paying attention to was the toilet itself because, as he kept his eye on the door to the bathroom, fully expecting Merle to barge in and kick him in the ass mid stream, he realized to late, that Merle had placed clear cling wrap to the toilet bowl and he was now splashing all over the damn bathroom.

Cursing loudly he stomped down the hall to grab a change of clothes to take a shower. Of course, as soon as he started showering the hot water suddenly stopped working so he was stuck standing, shivering, under a frigid stream.

"That's it," he growled as he stomped down the stairs. He couldn't do this. If he stayed here then he was bound to turn into a paranoid lunatic.

"What's the problem?" Merle asked innocently.

"I'm leavin'," Daryl grumbled, picking up the phone and eying it closely.

Merle leaned back in his chair and grinned. "You give up quick."

Daryl looked at him cynically. "Really? Cause I don't think you thought this through too well you son of a bitch. You, you're stuck here, but I ain't. Anything you need, I have to go get it. You run out of food and it's me that has to go to the damn store. Hell, if it wasn't for me you wouldn't even be able to properly wipe your ass. And, by the way, I used the last of the toilet paper to clean the piss off the floor. So I'm leavin' and you're stayin' and I hope your stupid ass starves to death."

Merle let the two front legs of his chair hit the floor and he frowned, seeming, for the first time, to realize that maybe he had gone a little overboard with the immature pranks. "Now wait a minute," he said, sounding incredulous.

"Fuck you," Daryl muttered, dialing the number for the bakery and ignoring whatever Merle may have been saying.

"Cakes by Carol, can I help you?" A cheerful voice said into the phone.

Daryl glanced up at Merle before he spoke. "Remember this mornin' you tellin' me to pack a bag and stay with you for a while?"

Carol paused for a second but when she spoke he could hear the humor in her voice. "Actually, it was in the shower last night and it was in the middle of..." She cleared her throat, "But yeah, I remember. And I think what I actually said was, 'Oh God, Oh God, you should really just move in so you can do this all the time,' but yeah, I remember."

He felt his face flame and he glanced at Merle who was watching him with a scowl. "Yeah, well, I'm packin' a bag and I'm gonna stay with you a while then. If you were being serious."

"Is everything okay?" She asked, no more humor in her tone.

"Nope. Merle's cause me to damn near break my fingers, I slid all over my bedroom floor and then I pissed all over the bathroom and I ain't putting up with anymore of his shit. This should have been between you and him but I'm catching all the shit."

"But didn't you say, after the shower of course, that you were going back home because me and you went about everything the wrong way and we were going to be two normal people and normal people didn't move in as soon as they started sleeping together?"

"Well yeah, but-"

"But now you don't want to deal with your brother so you're all of a sudden willing to come stay with me to get away from him?"

"That ain't..." But his voice trailed off because he had, indeed, wanted them to do all of this right and she was telling the truth. He was running from Merle. "Fuck," he grumbled into the phone and noticed Merle trying to get closer so he could hear Daryl's end of the conversation.

"Listen, if you want to come stay with me because you want to then that's fine, even though I think you were right before. I just don't want this getting messed up because of Merle."

"I hear you," he sighed.

"Look, I'm about to close up. I'll be there in fifteen minutes and then I'm gonna fix this. And then I'm spending the night with you."

He snorted. "Trust me, you ain't gonna want to stay here."

"Don't underestimate me, Daryl. I think I have Merle figured out."

~H~

Carol hung up and smiled to herself as she headed out of the kitchen. She eyed the display case and picked a few items out that she thought would help break the ice with Merle Dixon. She had to repress a laugh as she remembered what Daryl had told her. Merle was on the warpath and it was so bad Daryl wanted to throw his convictions out the window and stay with her.

As much as she loved the idea of him being around all the time, he had been right telling her that they shouldn't move quite so fast.

"You ready?" Andrea asked as Carol boxed the items and came around the counter.

Carol grinned. "Change of plans."

Andrea raised a brow and frowned. "You are not ditching me for your boyfriend."

Carol shook her head. "Nope. Remember me telling you about his brother?"

Andrea made a face. "That disgusting pig? You may have mentioned him."

"Do you want to meet him?" Carol asked with a grin.

Andrea studied her for a few long moments. "Are you really going to try to set me up with a guy that caused your whole life to get turned on it's axis?"

Carol shook her head. "Of course not but I'm trying to call a truce and I figure, if I brought a good looking successful blond along with me then it would make things a little easier. The cake is a peace offering, not you."

Andrea kept asking questions on the short drive to Daryl's, wanting to know what Merle looked like, how old he was, why he was on house arrest to begin with and if he still did the same types of things that had landed him in trouble in the first place. Carol had to sit in the driveway for a minute explaining everything she could about Merle Dixon.

"But I'm telling you, I'm not bringing you here to hook up with him. He's bad news. He's a temperamental man-child."

Andrea just smiled and got out, leaving Carol to hurry after her.

Merle was the one that came to the door, his eyes narrowing on Carol. She smiled at him as he glared down at her and then she held up the box. His eyes went to the label before meeting hers again and she knew that he thought this was another little prank.

"I solemnly swear that this is just a cake and according to your brother it's your favorite. It's a peace offering," she said, holding his suspicious gaze.

"Mmhmm, and as soon as I eat it I'm gonna get sick, or there's bugs baked into it or somebody's ass hairs."

Andrea cleared her throat and Merle's eyes slid over to her, suspicion turning to approval as his eyes ran over her. Andrea seemed to enjoy the attention. She smiled. "I've been with her all day and I can assure you that she didn't do anything to it. I'll even eat the first slice if you don't believe me."

This seemed to pacify Merle and he took the box. "Fine."

They followed him inside where Andrea caught her eye and gave her own look of approval as she nodded towards Merle's retreating figure. Carol shook her head frantically. There was no way she would let her best friend get involved with Merle. They couldn't be more different and Merle would just end up hurting her. Andrea needed to find a man that only wanted to be with her and Carol was sure that Merle's appetites would prevent him from being loyal to one woman.

Daryl was sitting at the table, looking miserable, when they walked into the kitchen. When he looked up at her he gave her a questioning look as he glanced at Andrea.

"Buffer," Carol said with a smile.

He snorted. "Good idea."

~H~

 _ **Eight Months Later**_

Daryl pulled off his dirty work boots and left them by the front door before stepping inside. It almost looked like a different house. The walls had been painted, the floors sanded and re-stained, the wood trim scrubbed and polished. There was new furniture and new curtains and the living room wasn't the only room that Carol had attacked with zeal.

He looked up at the sound of pounding footsteps hurrying down the stairs and then she was right there, barefoot and grinning with a smear of paint on her forehead.

"I'm done," she beamed.

He stripped off his work shirt and sighed. "Done with the bathroom?" He asked. "Or done with the whole house?"

She shrugged. "I'll never be done with the house."

The kitchen looked nothing like it had six months ago but the woman had a knack for all of this and he couldn't have done a better job himself if he'd had experts telling him what to do. Carol had moved in before Merle had moved out and the three of them had managed to coexist just fine, but Carol found the sorry state of the house a shame. She complained that him and Merle didn't see the potential that she saw and finally they both threw up their hands and told her to do whatever she wanted as long as she didn't tear it down.

She had taken the ball and ran. She hired help at the bakery, rented out her posh little apartment to a couple of college girls and she had delved into her own savings to put into renovations on the house that Daryl's grandfather had built.

"Merle and Andrea are coming over," Carol said, bending over to pull something from the oven.

Daryl stared at her ass, barely registering her words for a moment and then she was glancing over her shoulder. He straightened up, smiling sheepishly. "Those two are weird," he muttered, sitting down on one of the bar stools.

Carol stood up, laughing softly. "That's an understatement if I've ever heard one. It wasn't as bad when they were just messing around but actually moving in together? I never thought it would work."

Daryl nodded and then pulled her into the cradle of his thighs. "And then Merle keepin' a job for more than a few weeks. Not bothering to run around with that old crowd of his that always got him into trouble. I never thought he would last."

Her arms went around his neck. "He lives in a gated community and doesn't even seem to mind."

Daryl shook his head, his hands sliding down to her hips. "Strange world."

"Strange indeed." She kissed him then and for a moment he forgot that he was filthy and she was covered in paint. She had that effect on him though. When she pulled away she draped her arms over his shoulders. "It'd be rude to have company while we're both in serious need of a scrub down."

He chuckled. "You're obsessed with the shower."

"Not really. I'm obsessed with you in the shower. There's a difference." She grinned and then started pulling him through the house towards the stairs.

He didn't argue with her. Most of the time she got her way but only because she came up with some damn good ideas. "And if they show up early?" he asked as she pulled him through the door.

"They have a key," she beamed.

He laughed, shaking his head as she kicked the bathroom door closed and started unbuttoning his shirt.

Sometimes he wondered how different things would be if he had never bothered trying to save her the trouble of dealing with Merle. If he'd done what he usually did and minded his own business. Even though it had been a total fiasco he didn't regret a damn thing that happened. It all got him here and he sure as hell couldn't think of a better life. Not just for him, either. Even Merle had reaped the rewards of Daryl's failed attempt to join the world wide web.

As far as he was concerned, regardless of the fact that it was the very reason he'd found Carol in the first place, the internet could go straight to hell.


End file.
